Quantitative assessment of pericardial delayed hyperenhancement helps identify patients with ongoing recurrences of pericarditis

ObjectivesRecurrences of pericarditis (RP) are often difficult to diagnose due to lack of clinical signs and symptoms during subsequent episodes. We aimed to investigate the value of quantitative assessment of pericardial delayed hyperenhancement (DHE) in diagnosing ongoing recurrences of pericarditis.MethodsQuantitative DHE was measured in 200 patients with established diagnosis of RP using cardiac MRI. Conventional clinical criteria for diagnosis of pericarditis were ≥2 of the following: chest pain, pericardial rub, ECG changes and new or worsening pericardial effusion.ResultsA total of 67 (34%) patients were identified as having ongoing episode of recurrence at the time of DHE measurements. In multivariable analysis, chest pain (OR: 10.9, pConclusionAmong patients with RP, quantitative DHE provided incremental information to diagnose ongoing recurrences over conventional clinical criteria of pericarditis. Quantitative DHE demonstrated acceptable test characteristics to diagnose ongoing recurrence even in RP patients presenting with chest pain.