title: Pericardial effusion as an early complication of acute myocardial infarction.
abstract: Two days after an acute myocardial infarction, a patient developed pleuropericarditis. A negative lung scan and echocardiographic evidence of pericardial effusion were instrumental in making the diagnosis. Steroid therapy led to a dramatic resolution of the signs and symptoms. Pericardial effusion is usually a late complication of myocardial infarction (Dressler's syndrome), but the increasing use of echocardiography may demonstrate that it occurs early in the course.
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D004452:Echocardiography; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications*; D010490:Pericardial Effusion / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D013577:Syndrome; D013997:Time Factors