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PubMed2005

Bacterial pericarditis: diagnosis and management.

Bacterial pericarditis occurs by direct infection during trauma, thoracic surgery, or catheter drainage, by spread from an intrathoracic, myocardial, or subdiaphragmatic focus, and by hematogenous dissemination. The frequent causes are Staphylococcus and Streptococcus (rheumatic pancarditis), Haemophilus, and M. tuberculosis. In AIDS pericarditis, the incidence of bacterial infection is much higher than in the general population, with a high proportion of Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare infection. Purulent pericarditis is the most serious manifestation of bacterial pericarditis, characterized by gross pus in the pericardium or microscopically purulent effusion. It is an acute, fulminant illness with fever in virtually all patients. Chest pain is uncommon. Purulent pericarditis is always fatal if untreated. The mortality rate in treated patients is 40%, and death is mostly due to cardiac tamponade, systemic toxicity, cardiac decompensation, and constriction. Tuberculous infection may present as acute pericarditis, cardiac tamponade, silent (often large) relapsing pericardial effusion, effusive-constrictive pericarditis, toxic symptoms with persistent fever, and acute, subacute, or chronic constriction. The mortality in untreated patients approaches 85%. Urgent pericardial drainage, combined with intravenous antibacterial therapy (e.g. vancomycin 1g twice daily, ceftriaxone 1-2g twice daily, and ciprofloxacin 400 mg/day) is mandatory in purulent pericarditis. Irrigation with urokinase or streptokinase, using large catheters, may liquify the purulent exudate, but open surgical drainage is preferable. The initial treatment of tuberculous pericarditis should include isoniazid 300 mg/day, rifampin 600 mg/day, pyrazinamide 15-30 mg/kg/day, and ethambutol 15-25 mg/kg/day. Prednisone 1-2 mg/kg/day is given for 5-7 days and progressively reduced to discontinuation in 6-8 weeks. Drug sensitivity testing is essential. Pericardiectomy is reserved for recurrent effusions or continued elevation of central venous pressure after 4-6 weeks of antituberculous and corticosteroid therapy.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1996

[Pericarditis in chronic inflammatory bowel disease: underlying disease or side effects of therapy? Clinical problem solving].

Pericarditis and myocarditis are rare extraintestinal manifestations of chronic inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease). Pericarditis as a side effect induced by sulfasalazine or 5-aminosalicylic acid, drugs used in the therapy of these diseases, was first described only 7 years ago. In older case reports the relationship between the use of these drugs and pericarditis is unclear. We analyze the reported cases of 68 patients (38 men, 24 women) with ulcerative colitis (n = 45) or Crohn's disease (n = 15) who had one or more episodes of pericarditis or myopericarditis. Pericarditis was not associated with high activity of bowel disease in all cases. In most cases therapy with corticosteroids led to uneventful recovery. In drug induced pericarditis omission of the 5-ASA therapy was sufficient in a few cases. There was one fatal case (with myocarditis). The decision whether pericarditis is a symptom of the underlying disease or a side effect of the drug used for the treatment of the disease is not always easy. We present an analysis (clinical problem solving) of a pertinent observation in a patient with Crohn's disease and pericarditis, showing the dilemma of pericarditis in chronic inflammatory bowel disease and its therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Pericarditis in horses: 18 cases (1986-1995).

OBJECTIVE: To determine clinical signs of pericarditis in horses and to determine whether there were any relationships among clinical signs, echocardiographic findings, treatment, and outcome. DESIGN: Retrospective study. ANIMALS: 18 horses. RESULTS: Physical examination was performed on 16 horses. Cardiovascular abnormalities included tachycardia (n = 16), pericardial friction rub (10), venous distention (7), murmur (7), muffled heart sounds (6), weak arterial pulse (6), jugular pulse (6), and edema (5). Twelve horses also had respiratory abnormalities; the most common was dull lung sounds, ventrally, suggestive of pleural effusion (10). Echocardiography was the most important tool for diagnosis of pericarditis. Detection of clinical signs of right-sided heart failure was significantly associated with severe accumulation of pericardial effusion and with detection of cardiac compromise. Severe accumulation of pericardial effusion was also significantly associated with echocardiographic detection of cardiac compromise. Pericarditis was idiopathic in 6 horses, and bacterial in 5. Five horses had nonseptic pericarditis associated with bacterial respiratory disease, and 2 had nonseptic pericarditis associated with viral respiratory disease. Fourteen of the 18 horses were treated specifically for pericarditis; 10 received antimicrobials and 6 with suspected immune-mediated pericarditis received corticosteroids. Pericardial drainage and lavage were performed on 6 horses in which pericardial effusion or fibrin accumulation was compromising cardiac function. Pericarditis resolved in all 14 horses that were treated, and all 14 returned to their prior intended use. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: With early detection of disease and aggressive treatment, the prognosis for horses with pericarditis is good.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed1976

[Blood and lymph vessels of the heart in pericarditis of different etiology].

56 heart specimens with pericarditis of different etiology were studied (uraemic, tuberculous, bacterial). In the majority of cases pericarditis was a complication of rheumatic heart diseases, fibrous-cavernous tuberculosis and chronic nonspecific pulmonary lesions, cardiac tumours and other pathology. Models of uraemic and purulent pericarditis were created in 5 rabbits and 30 dogs. The methods of venous injections and cardiac blood vessels injections, angioradiography, macro- and microscopy, histology, electrocardiography were employed. The function of the lymphatic system of the heart was determined by studying dynamically the resorption of Polyglukin from the pericardial cavity of the experimental animals. It was established that the disorders in cardiac activity in cases of pericarditis largely depend on the involvement of its vessels, primarily of the cardiac microcirculation bed, as well as of the veins and lymph vessels ensuring the drainage of the myocardium. Blocks of the venous and lymphatic beds of the epicardium in acute bacterial pericarditis causes disorders in blood and lymph circulation in the superficial layers of the heart muscle. Oedema and hypoxia developing in such situations favour the transit of the process into a chronic one with the formation of adhesions of the serous sheaths of the heart. The complication of any disease by bacterial pericarditis, especially with the development of pericardial obliteration, should be considered as an unfavourable factor worsening the prognosis. Aseptic pericarditis is accompanied by insignificant changes in the vascular system of the heart and cause important disorders in the blood and lymph circulation only in cases of constrictive pericarditis formation.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Constrictive pericarditis: its history and current status.

The diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis remains a challenge because it is often mimicked by restrictive cardiomyopathy. The last few years have seen numerous advances in our ability to differentiate between these two conditions which often have similar physical findings and hemodynamics. This review begins with a brief history of constrictive pericarditis; this is followed by an extensive discussion of newer etiologies, and then the classical clinical history and physical examination findings are described. Radiologic, electrocardiographic, and angiographic findings are discussed. The hemodynamics of constrictive pericarditis are reviewed. Recent results of echocardiographic and echo-Doppler investigations are presented. Emphasis is placed upon the limitations of M-mode echocardiography in the diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis. The value of echocardiographic Doppler studies of mitral and tricuspid flow velocity patterns, as well as of those in the pulmonary veins and hepatic veins, is described. Nuclear ventriculograms and angiocardiograms tend to show more rapid ventricular filling in constrictive pericarditis than in restrictive cardiomyopathy. Although only a small number of patients has been studied, these evaluations seem to have merit in separating restrictive cardiomyopathy from constrictive pericarditis. The role of computed tomography scanning and magnetic resonance imaging studies of pericardial thickness in confirming the presence of constrictive pericarditis is discussed. Abnormal pericardial thickening (> 3 mm) confirms the diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis, but only if the characteristic hemodynamic pattern is present. The usefulness of endomyocardial biopsy in recognizing specific varieties of restrictive cardiomyopathy is presented.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed1975

Clinical, microbiologic and therapeutic aspects of purulent pericarditis.

Twenty-six patients with purulent pericarditis were seen at the Massachusetts General Hospital between 1960 and 1974. The diagnosis was made in 18 of them during life, but only 6 survived, with an over-all mortality rate of 77 per cent. In eight patients, purulent pericarditis developed in the early postoperative period after thoracic surgery. In seven, purulent pericarditis was the result of contiguous spread of infection from a pleural, mediastinal or pulmonary focus in nonsurgical patients. In five patients, it was the result of direct spread to the pericardium from an intracardiac infection. In the remaining six patients, purulent pericarditis developed as the result of a systemic bactermia. Immunosuppressive therapy, extensive thermal burns, lymphoproliferative disease and other systemic processes affecting host resistance were present in at least half the patients. Staphylococcus aureus was the etiologic agent in the largest number of patients (8 of 26 in this report). However, in contrast to previous studies, in a significant number of the patients (five), purulent pericarditis was the result of fungal infection (in three patients subjected to thoracic surgery and in two immunosuppressed patients). This report confirms that purulent pericarditis is an acute disease with a fulminant course. The diagnosis is easily missed since classic signs of pericarditis (including chest pain, friction rub and diagnostic electrocardiographic abnormalities) may be absent. The echocardiogram shows considerable promise in allowing earlier diagnosis of the pericardial effusion which accompanies purulent pericarditis. Optimal therapy consists of prolonged antibiotic therapy and aggressive drainage of the pericardium. In this series, there were 6 survivors among the 11 patients (55 per cent) who received appropriate therapy.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1981

Pericardial disease in patients with cancer. The differentiation of malignant from idiopathic and radiation-induced pericarditis.

Pericardial disease developed in 31 patients with a variety of malignancies. Half of the patients (58 percent) were found to have malignant pericardial involvement, 32 percent idiopathic pericarditis and 10 percent radiation-related pericarditis. Facial swelling, cardiac arrhythmias and pericardial tamponade occurred frequently in the patients with malignant pericardial disease. Fever, pericardial friction rub and improvement with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs characterized the patients with idiopathic pericarditis. Effusive-constrictive pericarditis requiring pericardiectomy was noted in patients with radiation-induced disease. Pericardiocentesis documented malignant pericardial disease in 85 percent of patients studied, while 15 percent required open biopsy for diagnosis. Specific therapy directed at malignant pericardial disease may contribute to survival up to one year in 25 percent of patients. In 40 percent of patients with idiopathic pericarditis and in the majority of patients with radiation-induced pericarditis, survival was one year with specific therapy. A systematic evaluation of pericardial disease will benefit a subset of cancer patients with idiopathic pericarditis and radiation-induced pericarditis who can be managed conservatively.

Electrocardiography↗
PubMed1993

Purulent pericarditis: review of a 20-year experience in a general hospital.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to review the features of purulent pericarditis in patients from a general hospital during a recent 20-year period. BACKGROUND: Although studies published from 1974 to 1977 suggested a changing spectrum for purulent pericarditis, this view has not been proved. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated the records of 33 patients from one general hospital who had a diagnosis of purulent pericarditis during the period 1972 to 1991. All autopsy protocols from the same period were also reviewed. In 19 patients (group I), the condition was diagnosed during life; in 14 (group II), it was identified at autopsy. RESULTS: In group I, the possible sources of pericardial infection were identified in 17 patients; pneumonia (6 patients) was the most common source. Empyema was present in 10 patients; 15 had cardiac tamponade. The most common microorganisms were streptococci, pneumococci and staphylococci. Six patients developed constrictive pericarditis and required pericardiectomy. Three patients died, 1 patient was lost to follow up and 15 patients had a favorable outcome at a mean follow-up interval of 35 months. In group II, the clinical diagnoses included pneumonia (five patients) among other infections, with empyema in six patients. Purulent pericarditis was probably the direct cause of death in two patients. CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, the spectrum of purulent pericarditis has not changed in recent years. Many patients do not have the classical findings of pericarditis, and diagnosis is made only at autopsy or after tamponade has developed. Empyema remains a common predisposing condition. Purulent pericarditis is still a severe disease, but its prognosis is excellent in patients who can be discharged from the hospital.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Transient constrictive pericarditis: diagnosis by two-dimensional Doppler echocardiography.

Patients with constrictive pericarditis usually require pericardiectomy to relieve their symptoms. In some patients, however, constrictive pericarditis may resolve spontaneously or with medical treatment. Four patients with transient constrictive pericarditis are described in this report. Although the cause of pericarditis differed, all patients had a small to large amount of pericardial effusion, followed by symptoms, signs, and Doppler features typical of constrictive pericarditis. Symptomatic improvement occurred after treatment with some combination of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, corticosteroids, and antibiotics. The resolution of the symptoms paralleled the normalization of characteristic respiratory changes in Doppler flow velocities. The condition of our patients most likely was related to a transient inflammation (or thickening) of the pericardium due to viral, bacterial, or immunologically mediated pericarditis. Resolution of the thickened pericardium was documented by magnetic resonance imaging in one patient. Awareness of the possible transient nature of constrictive pericarditis in a subgroup of patients with constriction has important clinical implications when pericardiectomy is considered. The resolution of constrictive pericarditis can be documented by serial Doppler echocardiographic examination.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Attacks of pericarditis as a manifestation of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF).

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is characterized by recurrent attacks of febrile serositis. While arthritis, pleuritis and peritonitis are common in FMF, no association of pericarditis with FMF has been described in detail. We retrospectively studied about 4000 FMF patients, using a computer chart review. Pericarditis was diagnosed when patients sustained attacks of pleuritic retrosternal chest pain and had typical findings in the electrocardiogram, echocardiogram or chest radiogram. The incidence and features of pericarditis in FMF were compared to published data. Over a period of 20 years, one or more episodes of pericarditis were recorded in 27 patients, a significantly higher incidence than in the general population (68 vs. 6 per 10(5) per year, p < 0.001). Each patient experienced 1-3 pericarditis attacks, lasting a mean of 4.2 days, accompanied by high temperature and symptoms of FMF attack at another site. The pericarditis attack resolved spontaneously and left no sequelae. FMF patients with pericarditis were comparable to other FMF patients in most demographic and clinical parameters. Pericarditis may be considered another rare manifestation of FMF.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Cardiac tamponade, constrictive pericarditis and pericardial resection in rheumatoid arthritis.

Four patients with rheumatoid constrictive pericarditis and two patients with rheumatoid cardiac tamponade are presented, and 60 previously reported cases with these two complications are reviewed. Rheumatoid arthritis was moderate to severe in 84% of the patients with cardiac tamponade and in 74% of the patients with constrictive pericarditis. However, both these complications were also seen in patients who had only mild arthritis and in two previously reported cases constrictive pericarditis actually preceded the onset of rheumatoid arthritis. The duration of rheumatoid arthritis had no bearing on the development of these complications. In 75% of patients with cardiac tamponade, and in 66% of cases with constrictive pericarditis, subcutaneous nodules were present. In those cases where the rheumatoid factor was measured it was positive in 92% with cardiac tamponade and in 84% with constrictive pericarditis. In 63% of patients with cardiac tamponade and in 70% of cases with constrictive pericarditis a history of pericardial type of pain was obtained and/or a pericardial rub heard. The diagnosis of cardiac tamponade and constrictive pericarditis was made clinically and in doubtful cases confirmed by cardiac screening and intracardiac pressure recordings. The low sugar content in the pericardial fluid in the absence of infection or malignancy was an important clue to the rheumatoid etiology of the effusion. In the majority of the cases histological appearances of the pericardial tissue showed non-specific fibrous reaction and infiltration with plasma cells and lymphocytes. Only in five of the cases, including one from the present series, were typical rheumatoid granulomatous lesions demonstrated. Treatment with corticosteroids neither prevented the occurrence nor led to amelioration of either cardiac constriction or tamponade. Pericardial resection was life saving, producing both symptomatic and objective involvement of the cardiac function. In the present series of six cases two patients developed aortic incompetence. In one of these it was due to rheumatoid granulomatous valve disease and in the other due to non-specific aortic valvulitis. The combination of constrictive pericarditis and granulomatous aortic valve disease has not been previously recorded.

Adult↗
PubMed2007

'Idiopathic' pericarditis--the clinician's challenge [nothing is idiopathic].

Reports on the aetiologic distribution of acute pericarditis vary significantly from study to study. We attempted to summarise reports on incidence of different aetiologies of pericarditis and explain the variable range of reported frequencies of different aetiologies. The literature between 1978 and 2005 was reviewed for comparative incidence of acute pericarditis. Reports of more than 50 subjects were included. The most common cause of pericarditis was 'idiopathic' pericarditis (mean: 26.1%), followed by neoplastic diseases (mean: 25.6%) and iatrogenic pericarditis (mean: 16.3%). Each mean had a wide range of 95% confidence interval. In summary, the clinician is confronted by a huge dispersion of reported frequencies of pericarditis aetiologies as a consequence of multiple factors. Recognising specific rare causes of pericarditis, often essential for early diagnosis and successful treatment, means coping with that aetiologic dispersion and its implied probabilities.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1975

Systolic time intervals in constrictive pericarditis. A study before and after digitalis.

Systolic time intervals were studied in 9 patients with documented constrictive pericarditis before and 15 to 20 minutes after intravenous administration of peruvoside (a quick acting digitalis-like glycoside) to determine underlying myocardial dysfunction. Data were compared with those of similarly studied normal subjects and patients with known myocardial dysfunction. Left ventricular ejection time index (LVETI) decreased in normal subjects (P less than 0.01) and in most patients with constrictive pericarditis, and increased marginally in those with myocardial dysfunction (NS) after peruvoside administration. Pre-ejection period index (PEPI) shortened significantly (P less than 0.01) after peruvoside in normal subjects and in patients with myocardial failure, but not in constrictive pericarditis. Likewise the predicted ejection fraction was insignificantly altered in constrictive pericarditis but significantly so (P less than 0.01) in myocardial failure and normal subjects. The response of one patient with constrictive pericarditis to parenteral peruvoside administration was similar to that seen in patients with myocardial failure. This patient had a delayed recovery after pericardiectomy. PEPI/LVETI ratio and ejection fraction were also abnormal in other patients with constrictive pericarditis when compared to normal subjects. Such abnormalities and the unusual response of some patients to administration of peruvoside may reflect underlying myocardial dysfunction in patients with constrictive pericarditis. However, it is possible that the rigid pericardium also contributes to these abnormalities to a varying extent. Systolic time indices and their response to digitalis appear to be a useful, atraumatic method for detecting underlying myocardial dysfunction in patients with constrictive pericarditis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

[Pericarditis in the acute phase of myocardial infarction: incidence and clinical significance].

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the incidence and the clinical significance of pericarditis in the acute myocardial infarction. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: The Coronary Care Unit of a University Hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We have studied 668 consecutive patients with their first acute myocardial infarction admitted at the Coronary Care Unit, Hospital General de Galicia, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, in the years 1983 to 1988. Pericarditis was defined as the presence of a pericardial friction rub on auscultation during the hospital course. Pericarditis was noted in 86 patients (12.8%), who were considered as group A. The remain 582 patients were considered as group B. Statistical analysis was carried out using the BMDP statistical package. MAIN RESULTS: Pericarditis occurred in 12.8% of the patients. Patients with, compared to those without, pericarditis had a lower age (59.0 +/- 12.4 years; p = .0005), and a higher percentage of males (86.1% versus 75.6%; p = .038), an a higher percentage of smokers (63.9% versus 48.6%; p = .01). The delay to the hospital admission was greater in group A (12.6 +/- 18.5 hours versus 8.0 +/- 11.7 hours; p = .0024). Pericarditis more often occurred in the setting of anterior wall myocardial infarction and in Q-wave infarct. The group A had a higher CPK peak (1877.5 +/- 1548.9 UI/L versus 1240.2 +/- 961.5 UI/I; p = .001) and a higher peak of CK-MB (213.7 +/- 134.7 UI/L versus 160.8 +/- 112.9 UI/L; p = .001). In-hospital mortality was significantly lower in group A (6.9% versus 17.2%; p = .016). The multivariate analysis by stepwise logistic regression identified the Q- wave myocardial infarct, the age, the delay to the hospital admission, the peak of MB creatine kinase and location of infarct as the only independent predictive variables for the pericarditis occurrence. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the pericarditis in the setting of Q-wave myocardial infarction, with anterior wall location, and is related to transmural extension of the myocardial necrosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[Chronic constrictive pericarditis. 27 cases].

Twenty-seven cases of chronic constrictive pericarditis seen between 1975 and 1990 in an internal medicine department were analyzed retrospectively. The chronic pericarditis was consecutive to one (n = 5) or several (n = 7) episodes of acute pericarditis. Echography demonstrated the presence of pericardial effusion in 74 percent of the cases, pericardial thickening in 41 percent and/or compression of right heart cavities in 55 percent. Computerized tomography of the chest, performed in 16 cases, showed pericardial effusion in 63 percent of the cases, pericardial thickening in 37 percent and lymph node enlargement in 19 percent. Magnetic resonance imaging of the chest was carried out in 2 patients but showed no abnormality. All 11 patients who underwent cardiac catheterization were found to be adiastolic. The cause of constrictive pericarditis, elicited in 13 patients was neoplasia in 4, sequelae of radiotherapy in 2, injuries in 2, mediastinal and retroperitoneal fibrosis in 2, myocardial infarction in 1, purulent pericarditis in 1 and bacteriologically proven tuberculosis in 1. Medical treatment with corticosteroids (n = 16) and/or antituberculous therapy (n = 15) was successful in 2 patients; 25 patients had to undergo surgery 7 +/- 11 months after constriction was diagnosed. Pericardial drainage (through a pericardiopleural window in 4 cases) proved to be sufficient in 10/15 patients but failed in 5. Pericardectomy was performed initially in 3 cases and after failure of medical treatment and/or drainage in 11 cases. The 4 patients with neoplastic constrictive pericarditis died 10 months on average after the diagnosis, but the remaining 23 patients were alive after à 9 to 48 months (mean: 19 +/- 15) follow-up. These results suggest that the data provided by echocardiography and computerized tomography of the chest usually point to the relevant therapeutic measures without a need for invasive haemodynamic exploration. Idiopathic constrictive pericarditis now accounts for 50 percent of the cases; tuberculosis has become exceptional, but the other, previously exceptional causes (neoplasia, heart surgery, radiotherapy, connective tissue diseases) are more frequent. Corticosteroids should be used in chronic constrictive pericarditis occurring after cardiac surgery or in the course of a connective tissue disease, but they are effective only in highly inflammatory forms of the disease. Modern treatment relies on early surgery, since functional results and patient's survival are closely related to the date of pericardectomy which must be carried out before very important myocardial repercussions develop.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed1983

Surgery for chronic pericarditis--thirty-years' experience.

During the past 3 decades, surgical treatment was performed on 75 cases with chronic exsudative or constrictive pericarditis, except for cases suffered from malignant tumor or trauma. Among 7 cases with chronic exsudative pericarditis, 5 underwent pericardiectomy and 2 had a fenestration of the pericardium. As for constrictive pericarditis, pericardiectomy was performed on 68 cases. Excellent surgical results were obtained. The ages of the cases with constrictive pericarditis, who underwent surgery, were significantly higher in the last decade, and the occurrence of pericardial tuberculosis significantly decreased in the last 2 decades. Although pericardiectomy has been performed for constrictive pericarditis without exception, it also plays an important role in the treatment of chronic exsudative pericarditis, especially for cholesterin or tuberculous pericarditis.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Pericarditis in adults in Abidjan. Study of one hundred observations (author's transl)].

The goal of this work is to precise the respective aetiologic prevalence and the bases of diagnosis of pericarditis in Ivory Coast. The epidemiologic study has been done about 197 cases diagnosed between march 1972 and april 1978. These results are comparable to those collected previously in West Africa: the pericarditis is present in 1% of the patients admitted in the hospital and in 5.6% of the cardiovascular diseases of the unit of internal medicine in the Treichville Hospital (Abidjan). The semeiologic and evolutive study has been done with the 100 best documented records, with 90 acute and sub-acute pericarditis and 10 chronic pericarditis. The usual bases of diagnosis are used; the frequency of chest pain and signs of adiastole is emphasized. The aetiologic repartition is as follows: tuberculous 33%, septic 18%, benign acute pericarditis 15%, rheumatic 5%, uremic 13%, malignant 3%, undetermined 12%. These numbers are comparable to other author's numbers in West Africa. They confirm the important number of tuberculous and septic infections. These infections processus explain probably the frequency of constrictive pericarditis. However, the aetiology of constrictive pericarditis is often difficult to state precisely.U

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1997

Intrapericardial fibrinolysis: a useful treatment in the management of purulent pericarditis.

Since the introduction of antibiotics into clinical practice, purulent pericarditis has become a rare disease. The major complication of the standard management for this condition is constrictive pericarditis. We report two cases of purulent pericarditis in which intrapericardial fibrinolysis was performed in order to minimize this complication. The first case was a 38-year-old man admitted to our intensive care unit (ICU) for management of constrictive pericarditis complicating purulent pericarditis diagnosed 17 days previously. The patient was treated with four intrapericardial injections of streptokinase (250,000 IU each). Fluid drainage and cardiac output were improved. No change in clotting parameters was noted. Pericardiectomy and esophagectomy were then performed for a diagnosis of esophageal neoplasm. The postoperative course was uneventful. The second case was a 16-year-old boy admitted with loss of consciousness due to cardiac tamponade. Percutaneous pericardiocentesis drained 900 ml of cloudy fluid. Two intrapericardial injections were performed (day 1 and day 5) without any complication. Pericardial drainage was withdrawn on day 13 and the patient was discharged from ICU on the same day. Six months later, there was no evidence of constrictive pericarditis. Intrapericardial fibrinolysis appears to be safe and effective when prescribed rapidly in the course of purulent pericarditis.

Adolescent↗