title: Intrapericardial treatment of autoreactive pericardial effusion with triamcinolone; the way to avoid side effects of systemic corticosteroid therapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate efficacy and safety of intrapericardial treatment with the crystalloid corticosteroid triamcinolone in autoreactive pericardial effusion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred and sixty consecutive patients with pericarditis/myopericarditis underwent pericardiocentesis, pericardioscopy (Storz-AF1101B1), and epicardial biopsy with pericardial fluid and tissue analyses. By polymerase chain reaction for cardiotropic viruses/bacteria in pericardial effusion and epicardial biopsies as well as by immunohistochemistry and immunocytochemistry of epicardial and endomyocardial biopsies, 84/260 patients were classified as autoreactive pericarditis and underwent intrapericardial instillation of triamcinolone (group 1: 54 patients, 50% males, mean age 48.9 +/- 14.3 years, triamcinolone 600 mg x m(-2) x 24 h(-1); group 2: 30 patients, 46.7% males, mean age 52.5 +/- 12.7 years, triamcinolone 300 mg x m(-2) x 24 h(-1)). Intrapericardial administration of triamcinolone resulted in symptomatic improvement and prevented effusion recurrence in 92.6% vs 86.7% of the patients after 3 months and in 86.0% vs 82.1% after 1 year in groups 1 and 2, respectively (P>0.05). There were no treatment-related acute complications. During the follow-up, 29.6% of the patients developed transitory iatrogenic Cushing syndrome in group 1 in contrast to 13.3% in group 2 (P<0.05). Conclusion Intrapericardial treatment of autoreactive pericarditis with 300 mg x m(-2) x 24 h(-1) of triamcinolone prevented recurrence of symptoms and relapse of effusion as effectively as the 600 mg x m(-2) x 24 h(-1) regimen, but with significantly fewer side effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine-Cardiology, Philipps University, Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Maisch
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Ristić
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pankuweit
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010490:Pericardial Effusion / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D010496:Pericardium / Q000187:drug effects*; D012008:Recurrence; D012449:Safety; D013995:Time; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014221:Triamcinolone / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D014221:Triamcinolone