As Simple as IVC? An Unsettling Instance of Pericardial Effusion and Hypotension

Daar and Rali discuss the case study of a 41-year-old man with a history of injection opioid use was admitted to the medical intensive care unit (ICU) with infective endocarditis secondary to methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) bacteremia, as well as acute renal failure requiring hemodialysis. Computed tomography of the chest showed numerous bilateral septic pulmonary emboli. After improvement in renal function, the patient was transferred to the medicine floor on Hospital Day 4, pending endovascular thrombus aspiration to remove the tricuspid vegetation. On Hospital Day 7, while cross-covering overnight, providers were called to the bedside given concern for respiratory distress.