Patients with constrictive pericarditis (CP) typically present with symptoms related to right-sided heart failure, such as cardiac ascites. Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) usually arises in association with ascites secondary to hepatic cirrhosis. We herein report a rare case of CP in which SBP developed due to cardiac ascites, even in the absence of cirrhosis. In this case, pericardiectomy improved both the hemodynamics and the ascites, while therapy with diuretics alone was insufficient. It is important to consider SBP in the differential diagnosis when any abdominal symptoms or an inflammatory response is found in patients with heart failure and cardiac ascites.
Keywords: cardiac ascites; constrictive pericarditis; heart failure; pericardiectomy; spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.