[Purulent pericarditis: a rare diagnosis]

Abstract

The authors present two cases of purulent pericarditis secondary to pneumococcus pneumonia, a rare entity in the antibiotic era, one of them in an apparently healthy person. A systematized diagnostic approach to moderate pericardial effusion is presented, together with a review of purulent pericarditis. The presence of pericardial effusion with persistent fever with or without known etiology, particularly in the immunocompromised but also in the apparently healthy patient, should always raise the possibility of purulent pericarditis.

Keywords: Bacterial pericarditis; Derrame pericárdico; Pericardial effusion; Pericardite bacteriana; Pericardite purulenta; Pneumonia; Purulent pericarditis; Tamponade; Tamponamento.