Contemporary diagnosis and treatment of recurrent pericarditis

Abstract

Introduction: Acute pericarditis is frequently complicated with recurrences, which represent a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for the physician, a bothersome trouble for patients. An incorrect treatment of pericarditis may cause further recurrence of symptoms, while an incorrect diagnosis may cause either a prolonged symptoms course with a possible risk of chronic constriction, or useless and potentially harmful treatments.Areas covered: This review will focus on the most useful and recent diagnostic tools for recurrent pericarditis. Medline/Pubmed Library were screened with specific key search: 'recurrent AND pericarditis'. The research was restricted to papers published in the last 5 years (2015-2019) and papers in English language, in order to appraise the latest advances in diagnostic assessment.Expert opinion: An accurate diagnosis of recurrent pericarditis is critical to provide timely and appropriate treatment of symptoms and prevention of further episodes. Diagnosis is made in case of recurrent symptoms associated with a documented evidence of pericardial inflammation. Further studies are needed to develop newer diagnostic tools aimed at identification of a predominant auto-inflammatory of auto-immune mechanism, which is essential to tailor the treatment.

Keywords: Recurrent pericarditis; auto-immune; auto-inflammatory; diagnosis.