Tuberculous (TB) pericarditis is a rare but life-threatening form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. The diagnostic strategy and optimal therapy for TB pericarditis are not well established. We retrospectively analyzed the diagnostic data, clinical characteristics, treatment and outcome in a total of 19 patients with TB pericarditis treated from January 1988 to July 2002. Based on the finding of e...

Although acute pericarditis is most often associated with viral infection, it may also be caused by many diseases, drugs, invasive cardiothoracic procedures, and chest trauma. Diagnosing acute pericarditis is often a process of exclusion. A history of abrupt-onset chest pain, the presence of a pericardial friction rub, and changes on electrocardiography suggest acute pericarditis, as do PR-segm...

Nowadays, we have a better understanding of the natural history of constrictive pericarditis such as transient constriction. In addition, we have acquired the correct understanding of hemodynamic features that are unique to constrictive pericarditis. This understanding has allowed us to diagnose constrictive pericarditis reliably with Doppler echocardiography and differentiation between constri...

Constrictive pericarditis is a rare disease, usually the result of long-standing pericardial inflammation leading to pericardial scarring with thickening, fibrosis, and calcification. The most frequent causes are mediastinal radiation, chronic idiopathic pericarditis, cardiac surgery, and tuberculous pericarditis. Nearly 9% of patients with acute pericarditis for any reason go on to develop con...

Recurrent pericarditis is a rare complication following renal transplantation. Colchicine, an inhibitor of microtubule polymerization, has been recommended for the treatment of recurrent acute pericarditis in non-transplant patients and is commonly used for the treatment of gout in transplant patients. However, the use of colchicine for the treatment of recurrent pericarditis in renal transplan...

INTRODUCTION In some particular endemic area, it is not uncommon to see patients with tuberculosis pericarditis. However, it takes a period of time from tuberculous pericarditis to constrictive pericarditis. There is still no report of tuberculous constrictive pericarditis concurrent with active pulmonary TB infection in a patient without previous pulmonary TB infection history. Therefore, we r...

OBJECTIVE To review the evidence for the efficacy and safety of colchicine in children with pericarditis. DESIGN Systematic review. SEARCH STRATEGY The following databases were searched for studies about colchicine in children with pericarditis (June 2015): Cochrane Central, Medline, EMBASE and LILACS. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA All observational and experimental studies on humans with any leng...

Essentially, acute pericardial syndromes include acute pericarditis and cardiac tamponade. This article focuses on the diagnosis and management of acute pericarditis. In Spain, most cases of acute pericarditis whose etiology is not apparent at initial clinical presentation are either idiopathic or viral pericarditis, which follow a benign or self-limiting clinical course (although tamponade may...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Tuberculous (TB) pericarditis is a major cause of constrictive pericarditis requiring pericardiectomy. We sought to determine initial prognostic factors in patients with TB pericarditis. SUBJECTS AND METHODS We evaluated initial presentation and clinical outcomes (mean follow-up 32±27 months) in 60 consecutive patients newly diagnosed with TB pericarditis. RESULTS ...

Drug-induced pericarditis is a well-described cardiac pathology that can result from a variety of medications; however, interferon-mediated pericarditis is extremely rare. We present a case of a young female with recurrent pericarditis due to interferon therapy. The role of interferon in adjuvant chemotherapy is well known and yields good effect, but this case highlights the very uncommon pheno...