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Constrictive pericarditis in a 19-month-old child.

We report a case of chronic nonspecific constrictive pericarditis with myocardial involvement in a 19-month-old infant. The patient underwent total pericardiectomy and had irreversible hemodynamic instability. Constrictive pericarditis is rare in childhood. It may follow several processes, most frequently an infectious disease. The natural course of the disease consists of progressive myocardial dysfunction with atrioventricular valvular involvement. When diagnosis is established early in the course of the disease and treatment started immediately, the evolution is favorable in most instances.

Journal Article↗

Constrictive pericarditis in a 19-month-old child

We report a case of chronic nonspecific constrictive pericarditis with myocardial involvement in a 19-month-old infant. The patient underwent total pericardiectomy and had irreversible hemodynamic instability. Constrictive pericarditis is rare in childhood. It may follow several processes, most frequently an infectious disease. The natural course of the disease consists of progressive myocardial dysfunction with atrioventricular valvular involvement. When diagnosis is established early in the course of the disease and treatment started immediately, the evolution is favorable in most instances.

Journal Article↗

[Surgery of infectious pericarditis].

Between 1980 and 1990 34 patients (pat.) (21 male, 13 female) were operated for infectious pericarditis (P.) at a mean age of 48 years (min. 2, max. 70 years). The infection was acute in 12 pat. (7 bacterial, 4 Tbc, 1 viral). A chronic constrictive P. was found in 22 pat. (15 history of Tbc, 7 history of viral P.). The preoperative mean NYHA class was 3.0. Cardiac catheterization was performed in 22 pat. and confirmed restrictive pericardial disease in all cases with elevated and equalized diastolic pressures in all 4 cardiac chambers. Mean cardiac index was 2.7 l/min m2 and the ejection fraction 53%. Pericardectomy (Pe.) was performed through an anterolateral left thoracotomy in 31 pat. and through a sternotomy in 3 pat. Total and partial Pe. were performed in 31 and 3 pat., respectively. Total mortality was 3/34 pat. (8.8%) with no operative death (one early and two late deaths). There were two recurrent P. (1 Tbc, 1 viral) and no recurrent constriction. Long-time follow-up of 31 surviving pat. is known in 28 cases with a mean follow-up of 4.6 years (min. 1 month, max 10.5 years). At the end of the follow-up the mean NYHA class ist 1.3 (p less than 0.005). Actuarial survival after Pe. is 97% after 30 days and 90% after 5 and 10 years. In our retrospective study we conclude that Pe. is a safe treatment for infectious P. with low mortality and excellent long-time results with improvement of cardiac function. Pe. should be performed early for purulent or constrictive P. There is no conservative treatment for progressive myocardial constriction and the resulting cardiomyopathy. After total Pe. there is a low rate of recurrent P. or constriction.

Adolescent↗

Transient cardiac constriction following purulent pericarditis.

Transient cardiac constriction is an unusual complication of purulent pericarditis. It should be suspected in the presence of clinical and haemodynamic deterioration when signs of activity have abated. Features of cardiac constriction were observed in a 4-year-old boy 2 weeks after surgical drainage. The patient was managed conservatively without surgery and the outcome was good. Follow up 2 years later showed a healthy boy with a normal cardiological examination.

Acute Disease↗

Real time two dimensional echocardiography in constrictive pericarditis.

Real time two dimensional echocardiography was performed in five patients with constrictive pericarditis. The echocardiogram showed several typical features: (1) The heart was normal in size or decreased; the ventricles were small and the atria enlarged. (2) The pericardium was seen as a single or double dense rigid shell surrounding both ventricles and the apex; its immobility was striking. (3) The inferior vena cava and hepatic veins were greatly dilated in keeping with the severe clinical venous congestion. (4) Both interventricular and interatrial septa bulged into the left side of the heart on inspiration. (5) The atrioventricular valves were hypermobile. (6) A prominent ventricular diastolic filling half was seen. The two dimensional echocardiogram excluded other causes of severe cardiac failure such as congestive cardiomyopathy and valvular heart disease, while the dense immobile pericardial echo or echoes and the "normal" texture of the myocardial echoes made the diagnosis of restrictive cardiomyopathy unlikely.

Adolescent↗

CT in tuberculous constrictive pericarditis.

Constrictive pericarditis (CP) and restrictive cardiomyopathy have the same pathophysiological disorder (impaired diastolic filling) and a similar presentation. To determine the value of a noninvasive technique, CT, in differentiating between the two, we reviewed the CT scans of 212 patients with clinical signs and symptoms of CP and/or restrictive cardiomyopathy, after 26 cases that did not proceed to surgery were excluded. Computed tomography showed pericardial thickening (greater than 3 mm) in 157 patients with proven tuberculous CP. In two children with proven constriction, the pericardium measured between 2 and 3 mm. We determined that pericardial thickening, in the correct clinical setting, is the only CT sign necessary to diagnose CP. Other CT signs, inferior vena cava dilatation (97%), and deviation of the interventricular septum (15%) were confirmatory. Computed tomography accurately differentiates between CP and restrictive myocardial disease, making more invasive modalities such as cardiac catheterization and endomyocardial biopsy, with few exceptions, unnecessary.

Adolescent↗

Reoperation for calcific constrictive pericarditis 43 years after pericardiectomy.

The case of calcific pericarditis in a 63-year-old male with a 1-year history of progressive right heart failure 43 years after pericardiectomy in 1960 is reported. The recurrent constriction was caused by the calcification of the residual posteroinferior pericardium and the impressing sternum of a pectus excavatum encasing the heart like a skull. The patient underwent total pericardiectomy of his residual pericardium through median sternotomy using cardiopulmonary bypass resulting in complete relief of his symptoms.

Calcinosis↗

Clinical characteristics of constrictive pericarditis diagnosed by echo-Doppler technique in Korea.

A retrospective analysis of clinical data of 71 patients with constrictive pericarditis (CP) diagnosed by echo-Doppler technique (mean age, 49+/-17) was done. In 27 patients (38%), the etiology was unknown, and the three most frequent identifiable causes were tuberculosis (23/71, 32%), cardiac surgery (8/71, 11%), and mediastinal irradiation (6/71, 9%). Pericardiectomy was performed in 35 patients (49%) with a surgical mortality of 6% (2/35), and 11 patients (15%, 11/ 71) showed complete resolution of constrictive physiology with medical treatment. Patients with transient CP were characterized by absence of pericardial calcification, shorter symptom duration, and higher incidence of fever, weight loss, and tuberculosis. The 5-yr survival rates of patients with transient CP and those undergoing pericardiectomy were 100% and 85+/-6%, respectively, which were significantly higher than that of patients without undergoing pericardiectomy (33+/-17%, p=0.0083). Mediastinal irradiation, higher functional class, low voltage in ECG, low serum albumin, and old age were the independent variables associated with a higher mortality. Tuberculosis is still the most important etiology of CP in Korea, and not infrequently, it may cause transient CP. Early diagnosis and decision-making using follow-up echocardiography are crucial to improve the prognosis of patients with CP.

Adult↗

Pericarditis due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium fortuitum: a case report.

In this case study, pericarditis results from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium fortuitum. Both organisms were isolated from three different clinical specimens: a pericardial fluid, pericardium, and a thoracentesis fluid. A mixed mycobacterial culture was initially suspected upon examining Ziehl-Neelsen stained smears prepared from the primary cultures following seven to ten days of incubation. Dilutions and subcultures were subsequently performed, confirming the presence of two different organisms.

Aged↗

Constrictive pericarditis: case presentation and a review of the literature.

Constrictive pericarditis (CP) is a relatively rare entity, the result of a thickened, scarred and often calcified pericardium, adherent to the heart and limiting diastolic ventricular filling. Some reported etiologies for CP include pericardial involvement from cardiac trauma (including surgery), mediastinal irradiation, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, neoplasms and myocardial infarction. However, the majority of CP cases are idiopathic. This report presents three cases of postoperative, tuberculous and idiopathic CP, highlighting the clinical and pathological changes seen in CP, and a review of the literature.

Adult↗

[Radiation-induced pericarditis. Long-term outcome. 45 cases with thoracotomy and biopsy].

Between 1970 and 1989, 45 cases of pericarditis consecutive to thoracic irradiation for cancer were studied to determine their long-term outcome and the course of their pericardial lesions. All patients were symptomatic and required surgery on account of cardiac dysfunction or, more rarely, for diagnostic purposes, i.e. to distinguish between pure autonomous pericardial complications and recurrent mediastinal neoplasias, the latter being excluded from the study. All patients were explored by thoracotomy which permitted histopathological examination of the pericardium and the pericardial fluid, at the same time as therapeutic surgery (pericardial decortication for constriction in 22 cases, creation of pleuro-pericardial windows to ensure drainage of major effusions in 23 cases). The outcome was often poor owing to associated post-radiotherapy myocardial and pulmonary lesions: there were 20 deaths, 5 of which were directly due to the neoplasia and 13 to the radiotherapeutic complications; 5 patients remained with impaired cardiorespiratory function.

Adolescent↗

Left ventricular pseudoaneurysm causing superior vena caval obstruction and effusive-constrictive pericarditis.

A diabetic woman with a silent myocardial infarction on clinical and electrocardiographic criteria presented with findings on physical examination of superior vena caval obstruction and effusive-constrictive pericarditis. A left ventricular posterior wall pseudoaneurysm and intrapericardial hematoma were found, with extrinsic compression of the right atrium. The diagnosis was first suspected by radionuclide imaging and confirmed by contrast angiography and surgery.

Aged↗

[Purulent pericarditis with a subacute constrictive course. Apropos of a case. Review of the literature].

A case of purulent pericarditis due to Hemophilus influenzae is reported. In spite of management by antibiotics and pericardial drainage, the disease ran a subacute course towards pericardial constriction. Fifty-two previously reported cases are reviewed. The most important clinical and paraclinical features are analyzed. Emphasis is put on the factors which promote subacute pericardial constriction.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Arrhythmias during acute pericarditis. A prospective study of 100 consecutive cases.

One hundred consecutive patients were examined to ascertain the incidence of clinically significant arrhythmias during acute pericarditis. Only seven arrhythmias, all atrial, occurred, and these only in patients with heart disease. It appears that the vulnerability of the sinus node to being engulfed by subepicardial extension of the inflammatory process is insufficient by itself to provoke arrhythmias in the absence of disease of the myocardium, valves, or coronary arteries.

Acute Disease↗

Iatrogenic arteriovenous fistula. An unusual complication of indwelling pericardial catheter and intrapericardial steroid instillation for the treatment of uremic pericarditis.

The drainage and instillation of poorly absorbable corticosteroids has recently been suggested as an laternative to the present modes of therapy for uremic pericarditis. One patient who underwent such a therapeutic approach subsequently had a left internal mammary artery to right internal mammary vein arteriovenous fistula develop. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the development of arteriovenous fistula after either pericardiocentesis or intrapericardial instillation of steroids.

Adult↗

Pneumococcal pericarditis. Diagnostic usefulness of counterimmunoelectrophoresis and computed tomographic scanning.

Although counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE) analysis of cerebrospinal fluid has proved useful in the diagnosis of meningitis, there has been little experience with its use in analyzing pericardial fluid. We describe two patients with pneumococcal pneumonia whose hospital course was complicated by purulent pericarditis. In one patient, results of a computed tomographic scan were important in suggesting the diagnosis. Results of a Gram's stain and culture of pericardial fluid failed to yield any organisms, presumably because both patients had received nine days of beta-lactam antibiotic therapy. However, the results from CIE analysis of pericardial fluid in both cases were positive for Streptococcus pneumoniae. In one patient, for whom capsular typing of the organism was performed, the pneumococcus type isolated from pericardial fluid matched the type isolated previously from a blood sample. The results of CIE can allow focused antibiotic therapy by establishing the correct diagnosis.

Antigens, Bacterial↗

Chronic constrictive pericarditis. A case report and review of the literature.

Actinomycosis is typically a chronic infection of the cervicofascial, thoracic, or abdominal region. Involvement of the heart occurs but is unusual. We present a case of chronic constrictive pericarditis caused by actinomycetes. The actinomycosis infection was present for 20 years, thereby representing the longest duration reported in the literature, to our knowledge.

Actinomycosis↗