Anaerobic pericarditis: case report and review

Abstract

Purulent pericarditis is uncommon and is rarely caused by anaerobic bacteria. We describe a 58-year-old man with purulent pericarditis secondary to infection with Bacteroides fragilis; the most likely source for the B. fragilis infection was subsequently found to be a ruptured appendix. His pericarditis eventually resolved after drainage of purulent fluid and treatment with antibiotics directed against B. fragilis. We also review 29 cases of anaerobic pericarditis previously reported in the English-language literature (we excluded those cases due to actinomyces). In 17 cases only anaerobic bacteria were isolated, while in 13 anaerobes were isolated with a mixture of facultative and/or aerobic bacteria. The cases were secondary to a contiguous focus of infection or occurred via hematogenous seeding. Treatment of both anaerobic pericarditis and purulent pericarditis due to aerobic bacteria entails adequate drainage and appropriate antibiotic therapy, and in all cases there should be a search for the source of the organism infecting the pericardium.