[Diagnosis of cardiac involvement in rheumatoid arthritis and some selected collagenoses]

The systemic character of the rheumatoid arthritis and the collagenoses includes an extraarticular organ manifestation. Since the symptomatology of an organ participation is often covered over with dominating joint troubles its diagnostics is difficult. In 34 patients (22 with rheumatoid arthritis, 12 with collagenoses) with the help of non-invasive methods (computed tomography and sonography) is tried to recognize a participation of the heart--particularly of the pericardium. Our examinations show that by means of the computed tomography in 13.6% of the cases an effusion in the pericardium (9.1% of them clinically not conspicuous) could be proved in rheumatoid arthritis, however, the frequency of 30% of the echocardiographically diagnosed pericardial effusions described in the literature could up to now not be confirmed. The classification of the changes of the pericardium as a complication of a rheumatoid arthritis or a collagenosis may be performed only in connection with the adequate clinical and biochemical immunological findings excluding other cardiac diseases.