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Case Reports
. 2021 Oct 12;9(11):e0859.
doi: 10.1002/rcr2.859. eCollection 2021 Nov.

Idiopathic recurrent serositis-Off the beaten track

Melanie Trishna Hui Min Roy  1 , Chee Hong Loh  2 , Melonie Sriranganathan  2 , Angela Maria Takano Pena  3 , Jagadesan Raghuram  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Idiopathic recurrent serositis-Off the beaten track

Melanie Trishna Hui Min Roy et al. Respirol Case Rep. .

Abstract

A 63-year-old female presented with chest pain and fever, and was found to have recurrent pleuropericardial effusions. Extensive investigations including infection screen and serologies, autoimmune screen and pleural and pericardial biopsy revealed no secondary aetiologies. She was diagnosed with idiopathic recurrent serositis (IRS). Our patient developed rash to naproxen, so she was started on colchicine monotherapy and responded well clinically. A review of the literature demonstrated that pleuropericardial effusions are rare occurrences, with patients occasionally being perceived as a medical enigma. This case study recommends an approach to guide physicians in their diagnosis and management of patients with pleuropericardial syndrome. Our case had an inflammatory phenotype, either autoimmune or seronegative serositis of unclear aetiology, which was recurrent and required pharmacological treatment. While the treatment for IRS lies in combined therapy with Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) and colchicine, monotherapy with colchicine was effective in the treatment and preventing recurrence in our unique case.

Keywords: effusion; pleuropericardial; recurrent; serositis.

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Chest x‐ray on admission
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Computed tomography of the chest on admission
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Recurrent pleural effusion
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Recurrent pleural effusion on computed tomography of the chest
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Resolution of pleural effusion following colchicine therapy
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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