Case Report

Candida pericarditis and tamponade from a malignant pericardio-oesophageal fistula

Nicola K. Wills, Priyadarshini Arnab, Ferninand Oompie, Nectarios S. Papavarnavas
Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases | Vol 40, No 1 | a741 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajid.v40i1.741 | © 2025 Nicola K. Wills, Priyadarshini Arnab, Ferdinand Oompie, Nectarios S. Papavarnavas | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 01 May 2025 | Published: 31 August 2025

About the author(s)

Nicola K. Wills, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town Division of Pulmonology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
Priyadarshini Arnab, Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Ferninand Oompie, Division of Radiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Nectarios S. Papavarnavas, Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

We describe the case of a middle-aged man and long-term smoker, presenting in cardiac tamponade with paroxysmal atrial flutter, with translocation of Candida glabrata into the pericardial space as a result of an erosive malignant oesophago-pericardial fistula.
Contribution: The isolation of Candida species from the pericardial space is a rare manifestation of invasive candida infection, carrying a high mortality rate, and requires interrogation for possible underlying immune aberrations or mechanical portals of entry.


Keywords

invasive candidiasis; Candida glabrata; Nakaseomyces glabrata; candida pericarditis; tamponade; malignant oesophago-pericardial fistula

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