BACKGROUND The working environment of stone miners has been believed to cause their susceptibility to respiratory diseases. Silicosis is an occupational disease caused by exposure to crystalline silica dust which is marked by inflammation and scarring in the lung. The immune system boosted after the silica invasion led to self-damage and lay the foundation of silicosis pathogenesis. Silicosis c...

P RESSURE patterns from the right auricle and ventricle in constrictive pericarditis were first described in 1946 by Bloomfield and associates' and recently by Hansen and associates2 and McKusick.3 The right auricular pressure curve consists of (a) an M or W shaped pattern with two upward and two downward deflections, (b) moderately or markedly elevated mean pressure and (c) failure of the down...

OBJECTIVE Constrictive pericarditis is a disease characterized by marked thickening of the pericardium which causes restriction of diastolic cardiac function. The purpose of this report is to review the outcome of pericardiectomy for constrictive pericarditis and to discuss its problems. METHODS Sixteen consecutive patients who underwent pericardiectomy for constrictive pericarditis in our in...

OBJECTIVE To identify features which predict the subsequent development of constrictive pericarditis from acute or subacute tuberculous (TB) pericarditis. SETTING Tertiary referral centre, chest hospital. PATIENTS The records of 16 consecutive patients in whom acute or subacute TB pericarditis was diagnosed between 1988 and 1990 at a chest hospital were reviewed. These records included a fo...

The maximal rate of fall of left ventricular pressure (peak negative dp/dt) was measured in 4 patients with congestive cardiomyopathy (primary myocardial disease), in 5 patients with constrictive pericarditis and in 3 controls. Measurements were made at rest, with leg raising, after a bolus of 6 mug intravenous isoprenaline, and in patients with constrictive pericarditis during pulsus paradoxus...

Constrictive pericarditis is a clinical condition characterized by the appearance of signs and symptoms of right heart failure due to loss of pericardial compliance. Cardiac surgery is now one of the most frequent causes in developed countries, while tuberculosis remains the most prevalent cause in developing countries. Malignancy is a rare cause but usually has a poor prognosis. The diagnosis ...

Reference tracings are of great value in the diagnosis and assessment of constrictive pericarditis. The Q-h interval in the jugular venous pulse tracing is strongly correlated with the mean right atrial pressure (r=0.91). The left ventricular ejection time, the Q-A2 interval, and the Q-h interval are independent during atrial fibrillation from the preceding diastolic filling interval. This diff...

discussion transthoracic echocardiography disclosed massive pericardial effusion, respiratory variation in mitral and tricuspid inflow e velocity, increased diastolic flow reversal with expiration in the hepatic vein, septum deviation in inspiration toward the left ventricle (lv), preserved lv function, and inferior vena caval (ivc) dilation without any collapse in inspiration. chest computed t...

Pericardiectomy is the standard treatment in patients with chronic constrictive pericarditis who have persistent symptoms. However, myocardial atrophy with prolonged pericardial constriction and abrupt increase in venous return can lead to heart failure with volume overload after pericardial decompression, especially in the right ventricle (RV). We experienced a 44 year old male patient who dev...