A study has been made of 62 patients with constrictive pericarditis. There was considerable variation from the classical description of the disease. It is hoped that the findings may be of use, because both diagnosis and treatment can sometimes cause perplexity. The atiology and mode of onset of constrictive pericarditis will be considered first, since ,these have important effects on the final...

The differential diagnosis of the association of pneumonia and haemorrhagic pericarditis should include viral aetiologies Sir, For the sake of completeness, the differential diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia with haemorrhagic pericarditis 1 should include Chlamydia infection in immunocompetent subjects, 2 and the association of pneumonia and staphylococcal pericarditis. 3 Where a bacterial patho...

To the Editor: We read with great interest the publication by Lilly in a recent issue of Circulation. 1 Lilly has provided a brief yet comprehensive review of the management of acute and recurrent pericarditis. Lilly has recommended that corticosteroids should never be used as a primary line of therapy in acute or recurrent idiopathic pericarditis, unless the disease symptoms are refractory to ...

INTRODUCTION Chylothorax and chylous ascites are uncommon and usually associated with trauma or neoplasms. To the best of our knowledge, constrictive pericarditis leading to chylothorax and chylous ascites in a person infected with HIV has never previously been described. CASE PRESENTATION A 39-year-old Thai man was referred to our institute with progressive dyspnea, edema and abdominal diste...

P ericarditis is possibly the most common cause of chest pain after an acute transmural myocardial infarction without reperfusion.' It occurs in approximately 28% to 40% of fatal transmural infarctions,2-8 and a pericardial effusion is detectable by serial echocardiograms in 28% to 63% of patients with a nonfatal transmural infarction.9-12 Yet the clinically reported frequency of postinfarction...

Disorders of the Pericardium Pericardial Effusion Pericarditis Acute Pericarditis Chronic Pericarditis With Effusion Constrictive Pericarditis Coronary Heart Disease Coronary Circulation Pathogenesis of Coronary Heart Disease Chronic Ischemic Heart Disease Stable Angina Variant Angina Silent Myocardial Ischemia Acute Coronary Syndromes Unstable Angina/Non–ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarct...

Although it is now recognised as a rare complication of cardiac surgery, constrictive pericarditis was diagnosed in three patients after coronary artery bypass surgery. The time interval between cardiac surgery and the development of constrictive features varied from two to six weeks. All three patients presented with severe congestive heart failure. Haemodynamic findings were characteristic of...

Constrictive pericarditis is an uncommon post-inflammatory disorder characterized by a variably thickened, fibrotic, and frequently calcified, pericardium. Etiology of the constriction can occur for many reasons. Although foreign bodies are not the common cause of constrictive pericarditis, the long-term presence of foreign bodies, like bullets, is presumed to cause chronic constrictive pericar...

BACKGROUND Constrictive pericarditis is a potentially reversible cause of heart failure that may be difficult to differentiate from restrictive myocardial disease and severe tricuspid regurgitation. Echocardiography provides an important opportunity to evaluate for constrictive pericarditis, and definite diagnostic criteria are needed. METHODS AND RESULTS Patients with surgically confirmed co...

Background Because of anatomic proximity, myocarditis is often associated with pericarditis. Although randomized trials have not delineated a successful evidence-based therapy for myocarditis, there is evidence of considerable benefit in treating pericarditis with a regimen of colchicine and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Cardiac MRI (CMR) is capable of detecting both myocardit...