1/203. Pericardial heart disease: a study of its causes, consequences, and morphologic features.This report reviews morphologic aspects of pericardial heart disease. A morphologic classification for this condition is presented. An ideal classification of pericardial heart disease obviously would take into account clinical, etiologic and morphologic features of this condition but a single classification combining these three components is lacking. Pericardial heart disease is relatively uncommon clinically, and when present at necropsy it usually had not been recognized during life. The term "pericarditis" is inaccurate because most pericardial diseases are noninflammatory in nature. Morphologically chronic pericardial heart disease may present clinically as an acute illness. Even when clinical symptoms are present, however, few patients develop evidence of cardiac dysfunction (constriction). When pericardial constriction occurs, it is the result of increased pericardial fluid or increased pericardial tissue or both. Increased fluid is treated by drainage; increased tissue is treated by excision. In most patients with chronic constrictive pericarditis the etiology is not apparent even after histologic examination of pericardia.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pericarditis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/203. hypothyroidism presenting as acute cardiac tamponade with viral pericarditis.This report describes the case of a young woman who presented to an emergency department with severe abdominal pain and shock. The patient was found to have pericardial tamponade due to a massive pericardial effusion. On further evaluation, the etiology of this effusion was considered to be secondary to hypothyroidism with concominant acute viral pericarditis leading to a fulminant tamponade. The presentation, differential diagnosis, and management of pericardial effusion and tamponade secondary to hypothyroidism and viral pericarditis are discussed. The diagnosis of hypothyroidism in conjunction with acute viral pericarditis should be considered in patients presenting with unexplained pericardial effusion and tamponade.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3.5keywords = pericarditis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/203. Acute myocardial infarction: a rare presentation of pancreatic carcinoma.Secondary neoplastic involvement of the heart is common but usually asymptomatic. Malignancy rarely presents as acute pericarditis, cardiac tamponade, and myocardial infarction in the same patient. We report a patient with unsuspected metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma who presented with acute pericarditis and cardiac tamponade and subsequently developed a myocardial infarction due to coronary artery occlusion secondary to a metastatic deposit around the left anterior descending artery.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pericarditis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/203. Transient effusive-constrictive pericarditis due to chemotherapy.Commonly used chemotherapeutic agents, specifically cytarabine and daunorubicin, can cause effusive-constrictive pericarditis. We describe a case of transient effusive-constrictive pericarditis in a patient with acute myelogenous leukemia. This is the first case report of a patient with transient effusive-constrictive pericarditis due to chemotherapy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3.5keywords = pericarditis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/203. cardiac tamponade originating from primary gastric signet ring cell carcinoma.A 45-year-old man with dry cough and dyspnea was referred by a medical practitioner for evaluation of heart failure on February 10, 1996. Chest X-ray revealed increased cardiothoracic ratio, and ultrasonographic echocardiography disclosed massive pericardial effusion with right ventricular collapse. cardiac tamponade was diagnosed and pericardiocentesis was performed. Ten days after admission, the pleural effusion had become more pronounced, and thoracocentesis was performed. carcinoembryonic antigen level was elevated in both the pericardial and pleural effusion, and cytology implicated adenocarcinoma, which suggested malignant effusion. Endoscopic study disclosed gastric cancer in the posterior wall of the upper body, and the histopathological diagnosis was signet-ring cell carcinoma. The patient died of respiratory failure on May 2, 1996, and autopsy was performed. The final diagnosis was gastric cancer with pulmonary lymphangitis, pericarditis, and pleuritis carcinomatosa, accompanied by enlargement of mediastinal and paraaortic lymph nodes. Interestingly, the primary signet-ring cell carcinoma of the stomach was situated mostly in the mucosa. Deep in the submucosal region, there was prominent invasion of the intralymphatic vessels, without direct destruction of the mucosa muscularis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = pericarditis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/203. Takayasu's arteritis accompanied with massive pericardial effusion--a case report.A 40-year-old woman who had been treated for Takayasu's arteritis was admitted to the hospital with fever, fatigue, malaise, and severe chest pain. Computed tomography of the chest demonstrated massive pericardial effusion and bilateral pleural effusion. In laboratory data, the c-reactive protein was high at 22.0 mg/dL, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate was also high at 80 mm/hr. The diagnosis was pericarditis with a recurrence of the systemic inflammatory process of Takayasu's arteritis. The patient was treated with methylprednisolone pulse therapy. Her massive pericardial effusion disappeared without pericardiocentesis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = pericarditis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/203. Video-assisted thoracoscopic pericardiectomy for severe pericardial effusions.Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) has proven to be extremely useful in the diagnosis and treatment of multiple thoracic problems. We used the VATS technique to successfully treat refractory pericardial effusions associated with pericarditis by performing pericardiectomy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = pericarditis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/203. Spontaneous pericardial hematoma in an infant.The finding of a pericardial hematoma is rare in the pediatric population. Its occurrence in an otherwise healthy 3-month-old infant is unprecedented in the literature. The hematoma was initially identified by echocardiography. Computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging did not contribute to the identification of the mass. An exploratory thoracotomy was necessary to rule out a neoplastic process. The final diagnosis of hemorrhagic pericarditis was made.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = pericarditis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/203. Constrictive pericarditis following hemopericardium due to ascending aortic dissection: A case report.A 79-year-old woman, who had had no history of trauma, tuberculosis, or collagen diseases, was referred for examination of general fatigue and shortness of breath on exertion. physical examination revealed engorged neck veins, hepatomegaly, and ascites with abdominal distention. On chest x-ray the cardiac shadow was slightly enlarged and bilateral pleural effusion was present. An electrocardiogram showed low voltage of the QRS complex. Computed tomographic scans revealed two lumens in the remarkably dilated ascending aorta and the severely thickened pericardium. cardiac catheterization showed elevated right atrial pressure and elevated right and left ventricular end-diastolic pressures, in addition to a pressure record of early diastolic dip and end-systolic plateau in the right ventricle. aortography demonstrated aortic dissection localized to the ascending aorta. On the basis of these findings, the diagnosis of chronic ascending aortic dissection complicated with constrictive pericarditis was made. After subtotal pericardiectomy, graft replacement of the ascending aorta and proximal aortic arch was performed with successful results. Her postoperative recovery was uneventful. Histological studies of the pericardium showed fibrosis and marked infiltration of the inflammatory cells. No findings of specific pericarditis such as tuberculosis or collagen diseases were detected.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3keywords = pericarditis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/203. Pulmonary tumor embolism from primary cardiac B-cell lymphoma.We report the case of a 54-year-old man with pulmonary embolism during convalescence from "idiopathic" pericarditis. A transthoracic echocardiographic examination indicated a large mass within the right atrium. Subsequently, he died from refractory hypotension. On autopsy, two large whitish nodules were found in the right atrium; there was also nodular epicardial infiltration. Both lungs showed multiple, grossly visible tumor emboli with pulmonary infarction and no evidence of conventional thromboembolism. This is the first report of pulmonary tumor embolism due to large cell B-cell primary cardiac lymphoma. Refractory unexplained pericardial effusion, pulmonary embolism without risk factors for venous thrombosis, and/or the existence of a mass in the right heart should arouse clinical suspicion for this rare malignancy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = pericarditis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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