Cardiac tamponade associated with hypothyroidism in Rwandan child

The author reports the case of a child who presented with huge pericardial effusion complicated to cardiac tamponade secondary to primary hypothyroidism. The most known etiologies of cardiac tamponade were not confirmed, and hypothyroidism was an exclusion diagnosis. Due to the severity of cardiac tamponade, pericardiocentesis was performed to relieve the compression effect. The child improved with Levothyroxine treatment.

Hypothyroidism is a rare cause of pericardial effusion in children. If the pericardial effusion increases in volume, cardiac tamponade with clinical manifestations can result. The pericardial fluids may be rich in proteins and cholesterol. Treatment with thyroxine therapy can improve outcomes.