Contemporary management of pericardial diseases

Pericardial diseases are relatively common in clinical practice, either as isolated disease or as manifestation of a systemic disorder. The aim of the present study is to review more recent updates on their contemporary management.

The cause of pericardial diseases is varied according to the epidemiologic background, patient population, and clinical setting. Most cases remain idiopathic, and empiric anti-inflammatory therapy should be considered as first-line therapy in most cases with the possible adjunct of colchicine in the setting of inflammatory pericardial diseases, especially relapsing or not responding to first-line drugs. A triage has been proposed to select high-risk cases requiring admission and specific cause search. The prognosis of pericardial diseases is essentially determined by the cause. The most feared complication is constriction, the risk of which is higher in bacterial forms, intermediate for postpericardiotomy syndromes and systemic inflammatory diseases, low for viral and idiopathic cases. Chronic constriction has a definite surgical therapy, whereas transient cases should be recognized and may be reversible with empirical anti-inflammatory therapy.

Contemporary management of pericardial diseases is largely empirical, although first clinical trials and new studies on diagnostic modalities and prognosis of pericardial diseases are bringing the contemporary management of pericardial diseases along a more evidence-based road. Integrated cardiovascular imaging is required for optimal management of the patient with suspected pericardial disease.