Pericardial Disease: Difference between revisions

Weeks to months after myocardial infarction, pleuropericarditis of autoimmune nature may prevail, termed Dressler’s syndrome. However, this syndrome is rare, and treatment with corticosteroids yields a good prognosis.

Lung cancer is the most frequent cause of neoplastic pericarditis. Cardiac tamponade in patients with a history of malignancy, in the absence of inflammatory signs indicates a possible malignant etiology, as is lack of response to NSAIDs in this patient group. When the effusion is indeed of malignant origin (approximately 40% of cases), treatment aims at alleviation of symptoms and the prevention of recurrences. A balance should be sought between pericardiocentisis in which recurrence is frequent, and pericardiectomy, which may be overly aggressive in this critically ill subset of patients.