UMEM Educational Pearls

Title: pericarditis prognostic factors

Keywords: pericarditis, prognosis (PubMed Search)

Posted: 3/7/2010 by Amal Mattu, MD (Updated: 11/22/2024)
Click here to contact Amal Mattu, MD

Major and minor clinical prognostic predictors for pericarditis have been described as follows:

Major: fever > 38 degrees C, subacute onset, large effusion, tamponade, lack of response to aspirin or NSAIDs after at least 1 week of therapy

Minor: myopericarditis, immunodepression, trauma, oral anticoagulant therapy

Patients with any of these criteria [major or minor] should strongly be considered for admission. In the absence of these factors, studies show that patients managed as outpatients do well.

[Imazio M, Spodick DH, Brucato A, et al. Controversial issues in the management of pericardial diseases. Circulation 2010;121:916-928.]