Treatment of Uremic Pericarditis

Abstract

To the Editor.— The use of polyethylene catheter in pericardial drainage 1 also found application in the treatment of uremic pericarditis in the early part of this decade, 2-4 when it was also used to inject steroids and was left in place up to 26 days. Buselmeier et al 5 have published numerous articles from 1973 through the present (240:1358, 1978) reporting their experience with this technique. Although the incidence of pericarditis occurring in the well-dialyzed patient during three months seems to be on the decline, this technique seems to have helped reduce, if not make unnecessary, subjecting these patients to pericardiectomies. Two items regarding the report of Buselmeier et al require comment. None of our patients required pericardiectomies, whether or not indomethacin 6 was used. During the past four years, only one patient in my care required a pericardiocentesis, which yielded about 800 mL of serosanguineous fluid. The occurrence