1. Pericarditis related to post-acute COVID infection: A case report and review of the literature
- Author
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Nguyen, Nhu Ngoc, Dudouet, Pierre, Dhiver, Catherine, Gautret, Philippe, Vecteurs - Infections tropicales et méditerranéennes (VITROME), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées [Brétigny-sur-Orge] (IRBA), Institut Hospitalier Universitaire Méditerranée Infection (IHU Marseille), Microbes évolution phylogénie et infections (MEPHI), and Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
[SDV.MHEP.ME]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Human health and pathology/Emerging diseases ,[SDV.MHEP.CSC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Human health and pathology/Cardiology and cardiovascular system ,[SDV.MHEP.MI]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Human health and pathology/Infectious diseases ,[SDV.MP.VIR]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology/Virology ,[SDV.MP.PAR]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology/Parasitology ,[SDV.MP.BAC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology/Bacteriology - Abstract
International audience; Abstract Cardiovascular involvement has been described in acute and recovered COVID-19 patients. Here, we present a case of symptomatic pericarditis with persistent symptoms for at least six months after the acute infection and report 66 published cases of pericarditis in discharged COVID patients. Patient mean age ± SD was 49.7 ± 13.3 years, ranging from 15 to 75 years and 57.6% were female. A proportion of 89.4% patients reported at least one comorbidity, with autoimmune and allergic disorders, hypertension and dyslipidaemia, as the most frequent. Only 8.3% of patients experienced severe symptoms of acute COVID-19. The time between acute COVID and pericarditis symptoms varied from 14 to 255 days. Chest pain (90.9%), tachycardia (60.0%) and dyspnoea (38.2%) were the most frequent symptoms in post-acute pericarditis. A proportion of 45.5% and 87% of patients had an abnormal electrocardiogram and abnormal transthoracic ultrasound, respectively. Colchicine combined with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) or acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) were prescribed to 39/54 (72%) patients. Of them, 12 were switched to corticosteroid therapy due to non-response to the first-line treatment. Only 6 patients had persisting symptoms and were considered as non-respondent to therapy. Our report highlights that pericarditis should be suspected in COVID-19 patients with persistent chest pain and dyspnoea when pulmonary function is normal. Treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and colchicine is usually effective but corticosteroids are sometimes required.
- Published
- 2023