Iatrogenic Traumatic Regional Pericarditis Secondary to Chest Tube Placement: A Case Report

A 63-year-old female patient with left-sided empyema underwent chest tube placement. Computed tomography (CT) imaging showed the chest tube with its distal end abutting the posterior pericardium. The tube was suspected to be positioned intraparenchymally and thereby kept in position. Twelve days later, the patient developed new inferolateral ST-segment elevations with PR depressions on electrocardiogram (ECG), a new moderate pericardial effusion on chest CT, and a pericardial rub on auscultation.