title: Diagnosis of tuberculous pericarditis and treatment without corticosteroids at a tertiary teaching hospital in Taiwan: a 14-year experience.
abstract: Tuberculous (TB) pericarditis is a rare but life-threatening form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. The diagnostic strategy and optimal therapy for TB pericarditis are not well established. We retrospectively analyzed the diagnostic data, clinical characteristics, treatment and outcome in a total of 19 patients with TB pericarditis treated from January 1988 to July 2002. Based on the finding of echocardiography, 8 of these patients were classified as having early stage and 11 as having advanced-stage disease. There were 15 men and 4 women, with a mean age of 65 years (range, 34 to 80 years). All patients received antituberculosis chemotherapy, and all but 2 underwent at least 1 of the following procedures: pericardiocentesis and biopsy, pericardial window placement, and pericardiectomy. None of the patients received corticosteroids concurrently. Of the 8 patients with early-stage TB pericarditis, 3 (37.5%) developed constrictive pericarditis, while of the 7 patients with advanced-stage disease (excluding 4 who had already developed TB constrictive pericarditis at diagnosis), 6 (85.7%) subsequently developed constriction. These findings underscore the importance of pericardiectomy in patients with advanced-stage TB pericarditis. To avoid potentially lethal cardiac tamponade and constrictive cardiomyopathy, clinicians should have a high index of suspicion of TB pericarditis when encountering a patient with pericardial effusion. Histopathologic study of pericardial tissue sample is the key to timely diagnosis of TB pericarditis. The favorable outcomes of patients in this series suggest that a combination of antituberculosis chemotherapy and timely pericardiectomy may be the optimal therapy for patients with TB pericarditis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chien-Chang
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Ming-Hsun
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jien-Wei
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Hsieh-Shong
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Leu
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004452:Echocardiography; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010495:Pericarditis, Tuberculous / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones