Concurrent acute pancreatitis and pericardial effusion.

While pleural effusion and ascites secondary to acute pancreatitis are common, clinically relevant pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade are observed rarely. In a study by Pezzilli et al., pleural effusion was noted in 7 of the 21 patients with acute pancreatitis whereas the authors detected pericardial effusion development in only three. The authors asserted that pleural effusion was associated with severe acute pancreatitis, while pericardial effusion and the severity of acute pancreatitis were not significantly related.