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Idiopathic pericarditis and cardiac tamponade in two cows.

Idiopathic pericarditis is an uncommon diagnosis in cattle with cardiac tamponade. Two cows were examined for clinical signs of right-sided congestive heart failure, including tachycardia, venous distention, and peripheral edema. Muffled heart sounds were detected in one of the cows. Echocardiography in both cows revealed voluminous anechoic pericardial effusion and compression of the right atrium and right ventricle. Cytologic analysis of the pericardial fluid revealed hemorrhagic inflammation but no evidence of a septic or neoplastic condition such as traumatic reticulopericarditis or lymphoma, respectively. Pericardial drainage and lavage accompanied by treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs were curative in both cows. It is important to differentiate cows with idiopathic pericarditis from cows with more common septic pericarditis because the prognosis for the former disease appears to be good with appropriate treatment.

Animals↗

Subtotal pericardectomy and epicardial excision for treatment of coccidioidomycosis-induced effusive-constrictive pericarditis in dogs: 17 cases (1999-2003).

OBJECTIVE: To determine the history, clinicopathologic findings, and results of surgery for effusive-constrictive pericarditis associated with Coccidioides immitis infection in dogs. DESIGN: Retrospective study. ANIMALS: 17 client-owned dogs that underwent a subtotal pericardectomy and epicardial excision. PROCEDURE: Hospital records from May 1999 to June 2003 were reviewed. Data collected included history, clinicopathologic findings, treatments, and outcome. Follow-up information was obtained via recheck examination and by use of standardized telephone interviews with referring veterinarians and owners. RESULTS: All dogs were of large breeds, and most were male (mean age, 4.66 years). Ten dogs had no prior history of C. immitis infection, and 7 dogs had chronic infection with C. immitis. Having a chronic C. immitis infection reduced the odds of survival, compared with no previous infection. All dogs had clinical signs of right-sided heart failure. All dogs had serum titers (range, 1:8 to 1:256) for antibodies against C. immitis prior to surgery, and titers were not significantly associated with outcome. Predominant echocardiographic findings were thickened pericardium, reduced right ventricular filling, and pleural or pericardial effusion. All dogs underwent a subtotal pericardectomy and epicardial excision and had fibrosing pyogranulomatous pericarditis in biopsy specimens obtained during surgery. The perioperative mortality rate was 23.5%, and the 2-year postdischarge survival rate was 82%. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Surgical treatment via subtotal pericardectomy and epicardial excision is successful at relieving right-sided heart failure in dogs with effusive-constrictive pericarditis secondary to C. immitis infection, but long-term treatment with antifungal agents may still be required.

Animals↗

Endoscopic pericardial fenestration for a patient with sustained lupus pericarditis.

A 57-year-old woman was diagnosed in January 1982 with SLE based on ANA 1:640, positive LE cell preparation, proteinuria (3+), and pericarditis. In 1984, 1994, and 1997, the pericardial effusion was noted to have increased without signs of disease exacerbation or cardiac tamponade, and pericardial drainage was repeated to control the effusion. A massive pericardial effusion developed in August 1997. After tuberculosis, hypothyroidism, neoplasm, and progression of SLE were ruled out, we decided to perform pericardial fenestration. A safe and minimally invasive pericardial fenestration was successfully completed endoscopically. Pathologic study of the specimen revealed chronic pericarditis. We consider endoscopic pericardial fenestration to be useful for at risk patients with pericarditis to control the effusion and establish a differential diagnosis.

Endoscopy↗

Cytomegalovirus pericarditis with cardiac tamponade in a young infant.

The principal viruses implicated in pericarditis are enteroviruses. Cytomegalovirus pericarditis is quite rare and has been reported in immunocompromised patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, malignant neoplasm or organ transplantation. We report a three-month-old male infant who suffered from cough and rhinorrhea for two weeks. He developed shortness of breath for three days, and fever for one day, prior to admission. Physical examination revealed tachycardia, tachypnea, pale conjunctiva, hepatomegaly, and a muffled heart sound without significant murmur. Chest radiography showed marked enlargement of the cardiac silhouette. Echocardiography demonstrated a large amount of pericardial effusion with impaired diastolic ventricular function. After pericardial drainage and supportive treatment, the fluid gradually disappeared. Viral culture of the pericardial fluid and serologic data confirmed a cytomegalovirus infection. Cytomegalovirus pericarditis should be included in the differential diagnosis of pericardial effusion in a young infant.

Cardiac Tamponade↗

[Increase of troponin I during acute pericarditis. 69 cases at an emergency service].

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and significance of troponin i (tni) elevation in acute pericarditis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively included 69 patients with acute idiopathic pericarditis. We analyzed ECG recordings, echocardiography findings and tni level. Thirty-four patients (49%) had detectable tni (> 0.5 ng/ml), 15 (22%) had a significantly elevated level (> 1.5 ng/ml). There was a significant correlation between elevated tni level and ST elevation. All patients were well at one year. CONCLUSIONS: A rise in tni is frequently observed during acute idiopathic pericarditis. According to the correlation with ST segment elevation, a rise in tni is apparently indicative of superficial myocardial damage. The prognostic value remains unknown.

Acute Disease↗

[Acute pericarditis in pregnancy. Report of a case].

In this study the authors describe a case of acute pericarditis occurring at 26 weeks' gestation in a woman affected by Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome and with a history of Hodgkin's Lymphoma and autoimmune hypothyroidism. The patient was first admitted to the 4th Medical Pathology Unit of the University of Florence, where moderate pericardic effusion with no evidence of heart tamponade was documented by ultrasound scan. Subsequently the patient was cared for on outpatient basis at the Centre of Perinatal Medicine of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the University of Florence. Since all examinations and tests aimed at defining the etiology of pericardial effusion were negative, an idiopathic acute pericarditis was diagnosed. The patient was given prednisone at a dose of 75 mg per day; owing to episodes of paroxystic atrial fibrillation, propaphenon was also administered intravenously to treat acute episodes and orally as prophylaxis. The patient underwent close control of both heart function (by means of ultrasound scans of the heart and dynamic EKG) and pregnancy (blood tests, ultrasound scans and Doppler velocimetry). At 36.5 weeks' gestation a healthy fetus was spontaneously delivered. Three months after delivery, the patient underwent an ultrasound scan that demonstrated the complete reabsorption of the effusion.

Acute Disease↗

Recurrent pericarditis after thoracic surgery.

Acute pericarditis is a frequent complication after cardiac and/or thoracic surgery. Recurrent acute pericarditis with multiple episodes is an uncommon phenomenon, however. Patients typically have chest pain and/or pericardial inflammation as shown by electrocardiography and echocardiography. Treatment presents a clinical challenge due to the condition's rarity and lack of multicenter comparative treatment studies. Numerous therapeutic modalities, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs), corticosteroids, immunosuppressants, and pericardiectomy, have been used without overwhelming evidence of a standard protocol. We report a case in which 32 episodes of recurrent acute pericarditis occurred, emphasizing the need for multicenter trials comparing therapeutic modalities in the future.

Acute Disease↗

Constrictive pericarditis associated with Marlex mesh. Two case reports.

Two patients were referred to our hospital with constrictive pericarditis approximately 1 year after undergoing mitral valve repair at another institution. Both repairs had included the use of a pericardial substitute, Marlex mesh, to prevent adhesion and to facilitate possible reoperations. Computed tomography and cardiac catheterization were used to establish the diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis. During surgery, dense, thickened fibrous tissue, the result of a Marlex mesh-related reaction, was found tightly adhered to the epicardium in each of the patients. It appeared that the Marlex mesh, which had been inserted to facilitate reoperation, had contributed to the development of constrictive pericarditis.

Female↗

Acute idiopathic pericarditis in the aged.

Eleven elderly patients with idiopathic pericarditis are reported. All but one were older than 60 yr. Evidence of ischemic cardiovascular disease was present in 8 patients. The initial diagnosis was heart failure with pulmonary complications in 4 cases and myocardial infarction in 3. Respiratory infection preceded the onset of pericarditis in 5 cases. Presenting symptoms were typical precordial pain, fever and dyspnea. Pericardial friction was found in 7 cases and transient rhythm disturbances in 5. Four patients had ST elevation and 3 had ST depression in their electrocardiograms. Other findings included an increased sedimentation rate, leukocytosis, elevated venous pressure and normal SGOT levels. Antibiotics were of no avail but prednisone had a dramatic effect. Two patients had a relapsing course lasting 2 yr or more. One patient, who died at the age of 75 from bleeding ulcer, had patent coronary arteries and mild perimyocardial fibrosis. The diagnosis of idiopathic pericarditis in the aged is difficult because the disease simulates ischemic heart disease in patients who frequently have evidence of arteriosclerotic cardiovascular involvment.

Acute Disease↗

[Myocardial infarction and late pericarditis].

The post-infarction syndrome was observed in 8 out of 138 consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction; 24 other cases of the post-infarction syndrome diagnosed over the preceeding 3 years were also reviewed. In order to determine the clinical significance and the prognosis, this group of 32 was compared to another of 105 patients with myocardial infarction without pericarditis, with respect to age, sex, medical history and characteristics of the underlying necrosis (location and size). Several clinical signs are discussed. This study showed the post-infarction syndrome was associated with large infarcts, the course of which was marked by arrhythmias, conduction defects and haemodynamic problems. A considerable inflammatory syndrome was often observed. The relation between the post-infarction syndrome and early pericarditis is not proved; on the other hand, a close correlation between late pericarditis, atrial fibrillation and left pleural effusion was demonstrated. The long term prognosis of infarcts complicated by the post-infarction syndrome is without doubt determined by the size of the necrosis and by the presence of ventricular aneurysms which are frequently associated.

Adult↗

[Pericarditis in HIV infected patients: retrospective study of 40 cases in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso].

Incidence of pericarditis has increased in sub-Saharan Africa, because of the HIV infection pandemia. We have done a retrospective study in the cardiology unit of the national hospital of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), in order to describe epidemiological, clinical, and therapeutic aspects of pericarditis occurring in HIV infected patients. Inclusion criteria were pericarditis proved by echography, and positive HIV serology. We have included forty patients (28 men and 12 women), mean aged of 34.45 years. General signs were fever (87.5%), and weight loss (70%). Thirty-six patients (90%) were in CDC stage C AIDS classification, three (7.5%) in stage B, and one (2.5%) in stage A. The symptoms described by the patients were dyspnea (92.5%), cough 77.5%), chest pain (65%), liver effort pain (27.5%), and palpitations (20%). Heart failure was present in 80% of the patients who had myocarditis. Pericardial effusion was small in 21%, moderate in 31,6%, and large in 47.4% of the patients. Tamponade occurred in for cases (10%). The etiology was tuberculosis in 75% of cases. Pericardial puncture (done in six patients) showed purulent fluid in two cases. Before hospital discharge, eight patients died, giving a mortality rate of 20%. Symptomatic pericardial involvement is frequently associated with stage C of HIV infection. Myocarditis is often associated (37.5%). Mortality rate is high.

Adult↗

[Constrictive pericarditis and rheumatoid arthritis].

Pericarditis is the commonest cardiac manifestation of rhumatoid arthritis. It is often clinically latent but it may evolve to constriction or less often to tamponade. The case presented is of a 60 year-old woman with a 5 year history of seropositive nodular rhumatoid arthritis in whom bilateral pleural effusions and constrictive pericarditis were observed after sudden termination of corticotherapy. She was treated successfully by pericardectomy. This complication is far from being exceptional (55 cases already reported). It justifies a systematic search for pericarditis in rhumatoid arthritis, especially by echocardiography.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗

[Pericardiectomy for post-coronary artery bypass grafting constrictive pericarditis; strategy for safe and complete pericardiectomy].

Surgery for constrictive pericarditis after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) needs complete pericardiectomy without injury to bypass grafts. We performed pericardiectomy for post-CABG constrictive pericarditis 15 months after the first surgery. Preoperative multislice helical 3-dimensional computed tomography (CT) clearly demonstrated the patent bypass grafts and anatomical relationship between grafts and surrounding organs. Among surgical approaches, we chose bilateral thoracotomy to avoid injury to the bypass grafts and to obtain a good surgical exposure, especially for pericardiectomy of the left side of the heart. Additionally, with the use of intraoperative doppler ultrasound blood flowmetry, we could safely achieve complete pericardiectomy. We conclude that the combined application of 3-dimensional CT, bilateral thoracotomy and doppler ultrasound blood flowmetry was a supreme strategy for the operation of constrictive pericarditis after CABG.

Coronary Artery Bypass↗

[Chronic pericarditis in Hodgkin disease].

INTRODUCTION: Among late complications of Hodgkin's disease's treatment the cardiovascular complications are important. The incidence of the late onset (later than 48 months) of chronic pericardial disease is from 11 to 50% among patients with Hodgkin's disease with irradiation in the past history. PURPOSE AND METHODS: Authors are presenting chronic constrictive pericarditis in a case among late consequences of therapy of Hodgkin's disease. It's difficult to observe and treat, because it's a rarity. RESULTS (CASE REPORT): A male patient, who is 35 year old in the present, developed III/A2 clinical stage, mixed cellularity Hodgkin's disease in 1992. He got combined chemotherapy and irradiation repeated and he came to complete remission. In 1999 he had no symptoms, but the physical examination, routine chest radiography and echocardiography proved pericardial effusion. Apart from the most frequent reasons of pericarditis and pericardial effusion, radiation induced, hypothyroid and primary manifestation of Hodgkin's disease equally arised. After repeated fenestration of the pericardium partial pericardiectomy was necessary. Chronic constrictive pericarditis was proved by the histological evaluation of the pericardial tissue that was probably provoked by the mediastinal irradiation. Since the pericardiectomy he has being well, he had no relapsed and no signs of pericardial fluid was observed. CONCLUSIONS: The early recognition and treatment of late complications are possible by the help of the patient's follow-up. These complications of Hodgkin's disease with using of modern radiotherapy apparatus are usually avoided.

Adult↗

Recent surgical experience in chronic constrictive pericarditis.

We reviewed the cases of 42 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for chronic constrictive pericarditis between January 1994 and January 2002, to determine causes, surgical techniques, mortality and morbidity rates, and improvement of functional capacity. Thirty-one of our patients were men (73.8%) and 11 were women (26.2%); their average age was 39.3 years. The pericarditis was tuberculous in 24 patients (57.1%), idiopathic in 10 (23.8%), rheumatic in 4 (9.5%), uremic in 2 (4.8%), and neoplastic in 2 (4.8%). In all cases, our approach was via median sternotomy. All anterior pericardium was resected from phrenic nerve to phrenic nerve. In 4 of 18 patients with calcific pericardial plaques, we could not develop a cleavage plane, so we left the plaques in place, reducing their size and relieving constriction by means of wedge incisions that reached the epicardium. No patient required cardiopulmonary bypass due to severe calcification or adhesion, but we did perform bypass with no difficulty in 5 patients who required additional cardiac surgery The early postoperative mortality rate was 11.9% (5 patients). In the 1st postoperative month, functional capacity improved dramatically: the number of patients in New York Heart Association functional class IV moved from 18 (preoperatively) to 1; in class III, from 20 to 6; in class II, from 4 to 13; and in class I, from 0 to 22. We recommend the median sternotomy approach for chronic constrictive pericarditis and consider cardiopulmonary bypass safe to use in indicated cases.

Adolescent↗

Efficacy of high-dose intravenous immunoglobulins in two patients with idiopathic recurrent pericarditis refractory to previous immunosuppressive treatment.

Although idiopathic acute pericarditis is usually a self-limiting disease, in many patients it may recur over a period of months or years. Even if some evidence seems to suggest the possible role of a deranged immune reactivity in the pathogenesis of idiopathic recurrent pericarditis, the etiology of the disease is still unknown. Furthermore, while some trial data confirm the usefulness of colchicine, its medical treatment is not yet clearly established. We here report the clinical history of 2 patients with idiopathic recurrent pericarditis resistant to prednisone, colchicine and other immunosuppressive drugs, who have been successfully treated with high-dose intravenous immunoglobulins.

Adult↗

Constrictive pericarditis and restrictive cardiomyopathy: similarities and differences.

Constrictive pericarditis and restrictive cardiomyopathy, two relatively uncommon clinical conditions, create a diagnostic dilemma primarily because of the many similarities in both their clinical and hemodynamic presentations. However, considerable differences exist in the pathophysiology, management, and prognosis between these two syndromes. Furthermore, the precise diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis and restrictive cardiomyopathy is mandatory, as the former is often curable whereas only palliative treatments are available for the latter. In this brief review, similarities and differences in the various aspects of constrictive pericarditis and restrictive cardiomyopathy will be discussed.

Cardiomyopathy, Restrictive↗

[Pericarditis in recent myocardial infarct].

Epistenocardial pericarditis, usually associated with anterior infarct, was noted in 64/400 myocardial infarct subjects admitted to an intensive care unit. No significant difference was observed with respect to this group in the case of mortality (20.6% as opposed to 26.2% in the controls) or complications of the acute stage, such as cardiac insufficiency and arrhythmia, though atrial fibrillation was more frequent (25% as against 15%). In all but one case, anticoagulant management was suspended on the appearance of pericarditis. In spite of the high frequency of atrial fibrillation, thromboembolic complications were not more frequent during brief (48-72 hr) suspension of anticoagulants. Dressler's syndrome was noted in 7 cases (1.7%), with epistenocardial pericarditis (4/7) or ventricular ectasia (3/7). Haemopericardium occurred in the case where anticoagulant management was not suspended.

Acute Disease↗