Diseases of the pericardium commonly manifest in one of three ways: acute pericarditis, pericardial effusion and constrictive pericarditis. In the developed world, the most common cause of acute pericarditis is viral or idiopathic disease, while in the developing world tuberculous aetiology, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, is commonplace owing to the high prevalence of HIV. This article pro...

Background Tuberculosis pericarditis (TBP) is the most common cause of a large pericardial effusion in the developing world, accounting for 70% of effusions in a case series from South Africa; and has a high mortality related to pericardial tamponade, constrictive pericarditis, arrhythmias and heart failure. Manifestations of TBP include pericarditis with pericardial effusion, effusive-constric...

Pericardial involvement in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is manifested most commonly as acute uremic or dialysis pericarditis and infrequently as chronic constrictive pericarditis (CCP). We report a 27-year-old patient with a history of uncontrolled hypertension, end-stage-renal disease on hemodialysis, who presented with recurrent ascites, dyspnea, and hypotension. After diagnosis with CCP, a...

We reported a 17-year-old adolescent with effusive constrictive pericarditis who presented with progressive heart failure. He was initially diagnosed to have hypereosinophilic syndrome with cardiac manifestation. Extensive workup showed no evidence of haematological malignancy or autoimmume disease. The constrictive pathology was later noted in echocardiography and cardiac catheterisation. Surg...

C H11ONIC constrictive pericarditis, interestingly enough, was one of the very first pathologic conditions to be recognized. This is natural in view of the rather obvious gross lesion found at autopsy. Hence wlhei the custom of postmortem examinations b)egan to be established, pericarditis and its sequelae were quickly identified. Lower,8 in 1669, described the clinical effect of interference o...

Twenty-seven patients with clinically primary tuberculous pericarditis were treated with prolonged chemotherapy consisting of intermittent doses of streptomycin and daily doses of paraminosalicylic acid or isoniazid. Twenty-one patients did well and were symptom-free six months to three years later. Five, one of whom died, developed constrictive pericarditis. Another died of widely disseminated...

antibodies to native DNA. A search of the literature revealed only two previously reported cases of constrictive pericarditis attributable to systemic lupus. Yurchak and co-workers5 described a patient who had systemic lupus manifested by malar rash, antinuclear antibodies, and LE cells at the time when constrictive pericarditis developed. However, he also had an atrial septal defect and rheuma...

BACKGROUND Effusive constrictive pericarditis (ECP) is visceral constriction in conjunction with compressive pericardial effusion. The prevalence of proven tuberculous ECP is unknown. Whilst ECP is distinguished from effusive disease on hemodynamic grounds, it is unknown whether effusive-constrictive physiology has a distinct cytokine profile. We conducted a prospective study of prevalence and ...

BACKGROUND Constrictive pericarditis is a rare and disabling disease that can result in chronic fibrous thickening of the pericardium. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term outcomes following treatment of constrictive pericarditis by pericardiectomy. METHODS Between September 1992 and May 2014, 47 patients who underwent pericardiectomy for constrictive pericarditis were retr...

Twenty-seven patients with clinically primary tuberculous pericarditis were treated with prolonged chemotherapy consisting of intermittent doses of streptomycin and daily doses of paraminosalicylic acid or isoniazid. Twenty-one patients did well and were symptom-free six months to three years later. Five, one of whom died, developed constrictive pericarditis. Another died of widely disseminated...