Abstract

RIVERA LADINO, Katia; MARCANO SANZ, Luis; BERMUDEZ GUTIERREZ, Gilberto  and  ZALDIVAR MARTINEZ, Enrique. Constrictive purulent pericarditis, an avoidable serious complication. Rev Cubana Pediatr [online]. 2013, vol.85, n.3, pp. 398-403. ISSN 0034-7531.

Purulent pericarditis is defined as the occupation of the pericardial sac by the purulent effusion. It is a lethal disease if not treated as early as possible since the mortality rate ranges 2 to 20 %. The combination of antibiotics and pericardial drainage provides the best clinical results; however, there are controversies about the time and the way of performing these actions. Some patients develop pericardial adhesions that may cause constriction with hemodynamic repercussion due to compromised dyastolic filling of the right heart cavities. Here is a male 4 years-old patient weighing 13 kg, who was diagnosed with purulent pericarditis of one month of evolution and presented signs of systemic inflammation and hemodynamic compromise due to constrictive pericarditis. He was operated on at the emergency service to perform pericardiectomy and mediastinal abscess drainage. The prevention of this problem and the behavior to be followed to manage this serious complication were commented on in this report.

Keywords : constrictive pericarditis; surgery; purulent pericarditis.

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