Purulent pericarditis in children: is pericardiotomy needed?

Surgical and Medical Management of Purulent Bacterial Pericarditis With Pericardial Mass in a Young Child

Purulent bacterial pericarditis is rare and associated with significant short- and long-term morbidity. We report a case of purulent bacterial pericarditis caused by Group A Streptococcus in an immunocompetent young child presenting with a pericardial mass. She was successfully treated with a combined medical and early surgical approach. (Level of Difficulty: Intermediate.).

Complicated Acute Pericarditis and Peripheral Venous Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infection Caused by Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus after Influenza B Virus Infection: A Case Report

Background

In this study, we report the case of a 14-month-old female patient transferred from another hospital to our hospital with a 9-day history of fever and worsening dyspnea. Case Report. The patient tested positive for influenza type B virus 7 days before being transferred to our hospital but was never treated. The physical examination performed at presentation revealed redness and swelling of the skin at the site of the peripheral venous catheter insertion performed at the previous hospital. Her electrocardiogram revealed ST segment elevations in leads II, III, aVF, and V2-V6. An emergent transthoracic echocardiogram revealed pericardial effusion. As ventricular dysfunction due to pericardial effusion was not present, pericardiocentesis was not performed. Furthermore, blood culture revealed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Thus, a diagnosis of acute pericarditis complicated with sepsis and peripheral venous catheter-related bloodstream infection (PVC-BSI) due to MRSA was made. Frequent bedside ultrasound examinations were performed to evaluate the outcomes of the treatment. After administering vancomycin, aspirin, and colchicine, the patient's general condition stabilized.

Conclusions

In children, it is crucial to identify the causative organism and provide appropriate targeted therapy to prevent worsening of the condition and mortality due to acute pericarditis. Moreover, it is important to carefully monitor the clinical course for the progression of acute pericarditis to cardiac tamponade and evaluate the treatment outcomes.

Purulent pericardial effusion in children: Experience from a tertiary care center in North India

Background

Purulent pericarditis, if not recognized and managed timely, it can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. There are no guidelines for the management of purulent pericardial effusion in pediatric patients.

Aim

The study describes our experience with the management of 22 patients admitted with a primary diagnosis of purulent pericardial effusion seen over a 7-year period.

Materials and Methods

Hospital records of 22 children admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit with purulent pericardial effusion during January 2012-December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed.

Results

The mean age of presentation was 4.6 years. The most common presentation was fever. History of antecedent trauma was present in 27.27% of patients. Empyema was the most common associated infection. Staphylococcus aureus was the most commonly isolated organism. Out of 22, pericardial drainage was done in 13 patients (59%). Only one of these patients required pericardiectomy later on. Six (27.2%) patients responded to antibiotics alone. Three (13.6%) patients died before any intervention could be planned.

Conclusion

Echocardiography-guided percutaneous pericardiocentesis and pigtail catheter placement are a safe and effective treatment for purulent pericardial effusion. When pericardial drainage is not amenable, close monitoring of the size of effusion by serial echocardiography is required. Small residual pericardial effusion may be managed conservatively.

Infectious and Noninfectious Acute Pericarditis in Children: An 11-Year Experience

Objective

The study was undertaken to determine the etiology, review management, and outcome in children diagnosed with acute pericarditis during 11 years at tertiary pediatric institution.

Methods

Retrospective chart review of children diagnosed between 2004 and 2014. Patients with postsurgical pericardial effusions were excluded.

Results

Thirty-two children were identified (median age 10yr/11mo). Pericardiocentesis was performed in 24/32 (75%) patients. The most common cause of pericarditis was infection in 11/32 (34%), followed by inflammatory disorders in 9 (28%). Purulent pericarditis occurred in 5 children including 4 due to Staphylococcus aureus: 2 were methicillin resistant (MRSA). All patients with purulent pericarditis had concomitant infection including soft tissue, bone, or lung infection; all had pericardial drain placement and 2 required pericardiotomy and mediastinal exploration. Other infections were due to Histoplasma capsulatum (2), Mycoplasma pneumoniae (2), Influenza A (1), and Enterovirus (1). Pericarditis/pericardial effusion was the initial presentation in 4 children with systemic lupus erythematosus including one who presented with tamponade and in 2 children who were diagnosed with systemic onset juvenile inflammatory arthritis. Tumors were diagnosed in 2 patients. Five children had recurrent pericarditis. Systemic antibiotics were used in 21/32 (66%) and prednisone was used in 11/32 (34%) patients.

Conclusion

Infections remain an important cause of pericarditis in children. Purulent pericarditis is most commonly caused by Staphylococcus aureus and is associated with significant morbidity, need of surgical intervention, and prolonged antibiotic therapy. Echocardiography-guided thoracocentesis remains the preferred diagnostic and therapeutic approach. However, pericardiotomy and drainage are needed when appropriate clinical response is not achieved with percutaneous drainage.

Purulent Pericarditis Due to Paronychia in a 16-Month-Old Child: A Nail-Biting Story

Purulent pericarditis is a rare infectious disease with significant mortality, even in the modern antibiotic era. The presenting signs can often be subtle and patients can deteriorate rapidly with cardiac tamponade. We report a previously healthy 16-month-old female who developed purulent pericarditis associated with paronychia and sepsis caused by methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus. In addition to antibiotic treatment, she required emergent pericardiocentesis for cardiac tamponade, followed by two surgical interventions including full median sternotomy incision and partial pericardiectomy. At 4-month follow-up, she did well with no evidence of constrictive pericarditis on echocardiogram.

Emergency centre diagnosis and treatment of purulent pericarditis: A case report from Tanzania

INTRODUCTION

Purulent pericarditis poses diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, especially in resource-limited settings due to the unavailability of diagnostic tools, equipment, and expertise.

CASE REPORT

A three-year-old female presented to the emergency centre at Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with altered mental status, lethargy, intermittent fevers, worsening difficulty in breathing, and progressive lower extremity swelling over two months. The child was in shock upon arrival. Point-of-care ultrasound demonstrated cardiac tamponade secondary to purulent pericarditis. An ultrasound guided pericardiocentesis and lavage was successfully done in the emergency centre and antibiotics were started. Though definitive management (pericardiectomy) was delayed, the child survived to hospital discharge.

CONCLUSION

Pericardiocentesis, pericardial lavage, and the initiation of broad spectrum antibiotics are the mainstay of early treatment of purulent pericarditis. This treatment can be done safely in an emergency centre with little specialised equipment aside from point-of-care ultrasound.

Rare Purulent Cardiac Tamponade Caused by Streptococcus Constellatus in a Young Immunocompetent Patient: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Patient: Male, 19

Final Diagnosis: Cardiac tamponade

Symptoms: Chest pain • shortness of breath

Medication: —

Clinical Procedure: —

Specialty: Cardiology

Hemoglobin-associated oxidative stress in the pericardial compartment of postoperative cardiac surgery patients

Atherosclerosis and valvular heart disease often require treatment with corrective surgery to prevent future myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease, and heart failure. Mechanisms underlying the development of the associated complications of surgery are multifactorial and have been linked to inflammation and oxidative stress, classically as measured in the blood or plasma of patients. Postoperative pericardial fluid (PO-PCF) has not been investigated in depth with respect to the potential to induce oxidative stress. This is important because cardiac surgery disrupts the integrity of the pericardial membrane surrounding the heart and causes significant alterations in the composition of the pericardial fluid (PCF). This includes contamination with hemolyzed blood and high concentrations of oxidized hemoglobin, which suggests that cardiac surgery results in oxidative stress within the pericardial space. Accordingly, we tested the hypothesis that PO-PCF is highly pro-oxidant and that the potential interaction between inflammatory cell-derived hydrogen peroxide with hemoglobin is associated with oxidative stress. Blood and PCF were collected from 31 patients at the time of surgery and postoperatively from 4 to 48 h after coronary artery bypass grafting, valve replacement, or valve repair (mitral or aortic). PO-PCF contained high concentrations of neutrophils and monocytes, which are capable of generating elevated amounts of superoxide and hydrogen peroxide through the oxidative burst. In addition, PO-PCF primed naive neutrophils resulting in an enhanced oxidative burst upon stimulation. The PO-PCF also contained increased concentrations of cell-free oxidized hemoglobin that was associated with elevated levels of F2α isoprostanes and prostaglandins, consistent with both oxidative stress and activation of cyclooxygenase. Lastly, protein analysis of the PO-PCF revealed evidence of protein thiol oxidation and protein carbonylation. We conclude that PO-PCF is highly pro-oxidant and speculate that it may contribute to the risk of postoperative complications.