PREVIOUSLY UNRECOGNIZED INTRAPERICARDIAL HEMATOMA LEADING TO REFRACTORY ABDOMINAL ASCITES

Delayed traumatic pericardial syndromes are well recognized. We descri be a case in which a patient presented 3 years after an initial trauma with manifestations of constrictive pericarditis. The etiology in thi s report is attributable to a large intrapericardial hematoma, which i s rarely described. This article also illustrates the complimentary na ture of magnetic imaging and Doppler echocardiography in the evaluatio n of pericardial disease.