Bacteroides pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade in a patient with chronic renal failure

A 31-year-old woman with chronic renal insufficiency and recurrent pericarditis developed an enlarging cardiac silhouette and physical signs of cardiac tamponade. Cardiac catheterization demonstrated pericardial effusion with hemodynamic evidence of cardiac compression. At pericardial exploration, 1.5 L. of foul-smelling purulent material was removed from a distended pericardial sac. Cultures of both the exudate and pericardium revealed pure growth of Bacteroides fragiles. The patient was subsequently treated with intravenous chloramphenicol and has had an uncomplicated clinical course since that time. This represents the first reported case of cardiac tamponade secondary to culturally proved Bacteroides pericarditis in the setting of chronic renal insufficiency.