Abstract:
An 88-year-old male patient was referred to our hospital for unexplained anemia, Gastric fiberscope revealed gastric cancer. No metastasis was suspected on admission. However, his anemia sustained in spite of the treatment with blood transfusion and iron supplement. His LDH level rapidly increased within a few weeks. Abdominal echography revealed liver metastasis. Patient was able to eat and walk without symptoms for a few weeks, then his blood pressure dropped and he presented with general fatigue. Pericardiocentesis revealed Class IIIa atypical cells. The findings of Tl/BMIPP cardiac scintigraphy were compatible with cancerous pericarditis
Cancerous pericarditis is usually caused by lung cancer or breast cancer. Gastric cancer is a rare cause of cancerous pericarditis. As the patient does not show any symptoms suspecting cardiac tamponade until the terminal stage, diagnosis and treatment are sometimes delayed. We will add more discussions with review of literature.
Tl/BMIPP cardiac scintigraphy is widely used in Japan, but not in western countries. We will demonstrate the figures of Tl/BMIPP cardiac scintigraphy performed for patient with cancerous pericarditis. The usefulness of Tl/BMIPP cardiac scintigraphy is also discussed.
Audience Take Away Notes:
- The audience will be able to use the knowledge from our experience for the management of cancerous pericarditis.
- Our presentation will raise a caution for false assumption from routine check-up. Cardiac catheterization is not always a perfect test or the heart.
- Cardiac Scintigraphy is a non-invasive test for the heart. It can evaluate ischemic and non-ischemic cardiac disease
