Long and wrong way: Unintended pericardial catheter insertion through stomach

Abstract Complications of percutaneous pericardial catheter insertion for pericardial effusion are rare. We describe a rare complication of percutaneous pericardial catheter insertion that penetrated the stomach and diaphragm before getting into the pericardial sac in a patient with lymphoma. The misplaced catheter was extracted surgically and subxiphoid pericardial tube insertion with pleural pericardial window was performed. Learning objective: Although similar outcomes have been reported with both percutaneous and subxiphoid techniques, major complications may arise with the percutaneous technique. This case emphasizes that percutaneous pericardial catheter insertion may have serious complications and these procedures should be performed by experienced clinicians with the standby of a cardiac team.>