[Tamponade disclosed by functional right-left shunt reversible after surgical drainage]

The authors report a case of tamponade revealed by the discovery, during emergency radioisotope scanning of the lung, of an acquired right-to-left shunt which was reversed by surgical drainage. The patient was a 60-year old woman treated by anticoagulants for suspected pulmonary embolism who had sudden worsening of her symptoms on the 7th day of the disease.