A 45 year old man, intravenous drug user, without history of systemic illness, presented with fever, chills and an anterior left thorax pulsatile mass. Echocardiogram showed an anterior mediastinal fluid collection with no apparent pericardial communication and without evidence of endocarditis. Chest tomography revealed a large left anterior mediastinal abscess with multiple pulmonary abscesses...

Seven patients with constrictive pericarditis associated with collagen disease underwent pericardiectomy with good results in all but one. The collagen disease was confirmed as rheumatoid arthritis in five patients, but in two its nature remained obscure. In one case the illness was marked by a persistent eosinophilia and eosinophilic infiltration of the pericardium. The association of constric...

It occurs in 15% to 32% of cases and the cause of the recurrence is usually unknown, although in some cases it may be traced to viral infection or may be a consequence of coronary artery bypass grafting1. The optimal method for prevention has not been fully established; accepted modalities include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, colchicines, immunosuppressive agents, and ...

[Indian J Tuberc 2005; 52:207-210] Summary: A 22-year male patient presented as bilateral chylous pleural effusion. There was no evidence of intra-abdominal or pulmonary pathology. Further investigation proved constrictive pericarditis as the most likely etiology. Patient underwent pericardiectomy by a cardio thoracic surgeon. The diagnosis was of tuberculous pericarditis. Patient responded to ...

Six consecutive children with proven purulent pericarditis were treated with pericardial irrigation with streptokinase. Mean (SD) 861 (678) ml (range 240-2000) of thick purulent fluid was drained, and five children had complete clearance of the pus within 3-8 days. One child developed intrapericardial haemorrhage with a submitral pseudoaneurysm and underwent patch closure of the neck of the ane...