Pericarditis as a manifestation of histoplasmosis during two large urban outbreaks.

Abstract

During two histoplasmosis outbreaks in Indianapolis 45 patients presented with pericarditis. The pericarditis occurred as a late complication in individual patients and during the outbreak. Risk factors for this complication included young age, immunocompetence, and male sex in persons between 20 and 39 years old. Intrathoracic adenopathy was present in 66% of cases. Since cultures were uniformly negative, including pericardial fluid or tissue from nine patients, serologic studies provided the basis for diagnosis. Although the course was usually benign, nine patients presented with tamponade and another with constrictive pericarditis. Prompt response to antiinflammatory medications and failure to identify H. capsulatum in the pericardial fluid or tissue support a noninfectious, inflammatory mechanism for this complication. Of 20 patients reexamined 1 year later, none had evidence of constriction but three had pericardial thickening by echocardiography. Histoplasmosis should be considered in patients with pericarditis from endemic areas, particularly when associated with intrathoracic adenopathy.