Acute Pericarditis Case Studies

Acute pericarditis can present as systemic inflammatory and autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus; hereditary periodic fever syndromes such as familial Mediterranean fever; and systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis. In an instance such as this it is important to consider the appropriate workup for these patients. Traditionally in acute pericarditis a complex workup is not justified since the information obtained will have limited value on management. However, if the patient with acute pericarditis does not respond to the standard anti-inflammatory treatment and if an autoimmune or infectious disease is suspected then further test may include antinuclear antibody testing, HIV and TB testing