Familial Mediterranean Fever Complicated By Massive Cardiac Tamponade

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a hereditary, autosomal recessive auto-inflammatory disorder characterized by recurrent attacks of fever and serositis. While arthritis, pleuritis, peritonitis, and pericarditis are common in FMF, large pericardial effusions with cardiac tamponade as a sequelae of FMF are considered rare.  We report a case of an 83-year-old female with a history of FMF who presented with chest pain. She was found to have acute pericarditis complicated by hemodynamically significant pericardial tamponade that was subsequently treated with an urgent pericardiocentesis followed by colchicine.