Chronic constrictive pericarditis as a sequel to acute benign pericarditis; report of a case.

Abstract

ACUTE benign pericarditis is a well recognized clinical syndrome, but its relation to chronic constrictive pericarditis is still a matter of dispute. Pathological studies of autopsy and operative material obtained from patients with constrictive pericarditis have shown some variation in the etiology, but in all the series reported, a large percentage of cases have been placed in the group with no specific cause (Table 1). There is evidence that many of these cases are the end result of so-called acute benign pericarditis. The case reported below represents typical acute pericarditis with massive effusion that failed to respond to medical management. . . .