[Hemorrhagic pericarditis and cardiac tamponade in systemic lupus erythematosus. A case report].

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder that can affect any organ or system. Although pericarditis is the most frequent cardiac manifestation of this entity, usually is not a life threatening situation. Pericardial effusion causing cardiac tamponade is a very rare complication in lupus, with an incidence less than 2%. We report a case of pericardial tamponade due to SLE with severe hemodynamic involvement in a 21-year-old woman associated to rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis, acute pancreatitis, acute acalculous cholecystitis, pleural effusion, hematologic, cutaneous and neurologic lupus activity. Recognition of this rare manifestation of SLE may be life saving.