Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract ELIC2025346 (Poster 094) | Published: 06 Aug 2025
Angela Ifeoma Odike1,&, Sheila Mary Ileli1, Adaugo Chizoma Owobu1, Johnbull Mazor Akerele2, Ikponmwosa Gold 2, Nwamaka Odinakachi Ejidike1, Maxy Anderson Odike3, George Obozokhale Akpede1
1Department of Paediatrics, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Edo State, Nigeria, 2Department of Surgery, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Edo State, Nigeria, 3Department of Anatomic Pathology, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Edo State, Nigeria
&Corresponding author: Angela Ifeoma Odike, Department of Paediatrics, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Edo State, Nigeria, Email: angelaodike@gmail.com
Received: 27 Mar 2025, Accepted: 09 Jul 2025, Published: 06 Aug 2025
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Polyserositis, Lassa fever, Lassa polymerase chain reaction, Pericardiotomy, Effusive pericarditis
©Angela Ifeoma Odike et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Angela Ifeoma Odike et al., Hemorrhagic pericardial effusion in Lassa virus disease in children: A report of three cases. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(Conf Proc 5):00238. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO5-00238
Lassa virus disease (LVD) is a viral hemorrhagic illness with varied manifestations. Polyserositis has been identified as a manifestation of LVD including pleural effusion and effusive pericarditis especially in adults. We report three cases of hemorrhagic pericardial effusion to heighten the index of suspicion for Lassa pericarditis, enhance prompt diagnosis and treatment among children presenting with bloody effusive pericarditis especially in Lassa fever endemic areas.
The cases were 3 male children (Cases 1, 2 and 3) aged 13, 9 and 15 years seen between January and December 2024. The clinical presentations, examination findings and investigations were in keeping with acute and post infectious hemorrhagic pericardial effusion due to LVD after the common causes of hemorrhagic pericardial effusion in our environment were ruled out. Case 2, surprisingly, had a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test of the hemorrhagic pericardial effusion but a negative serum PCR test. All three cases recovered fully and were seen in the out-patient clinic 2 weeks after discharge in good health.
Effusive pericarditis in LVD can mimic effusive pericarditis by other etiologic agents, so, LVD should be a differential diagnosis in any child with hemorrhagic pericardial effusion especially in Lassa endemic regions. A high index of suspicion, prompt diagnosis and treatment of these cases will reduce morbidity and mortality.
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