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[The post-pericardiotomy syndrome. Incidence of clinical and immunological changes]
We report the clinical and serological studies in patients who underwent pericardiotomy. Seventy three per cent of them developed antisarcolemma antibodies 4 weeks after surgery, and a third of them also had antimitochondrial antibodies. However, clinical post-pericardiotomy syndrome was rare; only 7% of the patients fulfilled the criteria for this diagnosis. Although immune responses against tissue antigens are frequent as a consequence of surgical trauma, the clinical manifestations are rare.
We report the clinical and serological studies in patients who underwent pericardiotomy. Seventy three per cent of them developed antisarcolemma antibodies 4 weeks after surgery, and a third of them also had antimitochondrial antibodies. However, clinical post-pericardiotomy syndrome was rare; only 7% of the patients fulfilled the criteria for this diagnosis. Although immune responses against tissue antigens are frequent as a consequence of surgical trauma, the clinical manifestations are rare.