Background: Purulent pericarditis is an infectious disease, frequently caused by gram-positive bacteria, that is rarely observed in healthy individuals, and is often associated with predisposing conditions.
Case presentation: Here, we present the case of an Escherichia coli post-surgical localized purulent pericarditis complicated by transient constrictive pericarditis and its diagnostic and therapeutic management.
Conclusions: Our case report focuses on the importance of imaging-guided treatment of purulent pericardial diseases, in particular on the emerging role of 18 F-labelled 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in pericardial diseases and on the management of transient constrictive pericarditis, often seen after thoracic surgery.
Keywords: Constrictive pericarditis; Escherichia coli; Pericardial abscess; Purulent pericarditis.