title: Pericardial effusion in a young patient with newly diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus and a mediastinal mass.
abstract: We present the case of a 32-year-old-woman who was admitted to the hospital for evaluation of pericardial effusion. The subsequent diagnostic workup revealed the presence of a mediastinal mass along with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The patient underwent thymectomy, and histological evaluation of the resected mass revealed thymic follicular hyperplasia without evidence of malignancy. SLE disease activity was promptly controlled by corticoids. Clinicians should be aware of the occasional association of autoimmune disorders with focal thymic hyperplasia, which might be confused with thymomas or thymocarcinomas.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Cardiology, University of Athens Medical School, Hippokration Hospital, Athens, Greece. glaz35@hotmail.com
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lazaros
authors.forename: Athanassios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aggelis
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tsiachris
authors.forename: Kosmas
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iliadis
authors.forename: Evangellia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Scarpidi
authors.forename: Athanasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bratsas
authors.forename: Anastasia-Areti
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Komnou
authors.forename: Christodoulos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stefanadis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000150:complications*; D008482:Mediastinum; D010490:Pericardial Effusion / Q000209:etiology*; D013952:Thymus Hyperplasia / Q000150:complications*