Rheumatoid Pericarditis

Collagen diseases as a cause of constrictive pericarditis.

“…There therefore seems little evidence for Gimlette's pessimism. A significant number of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (up to 40% in some studies) develop some form of pericarditis (Connolly and Burchell, 1961;Parker and Cooper, 1961;Wilkinson, 1962) and display non-constrictive adhesions at post-mortem examination (Bauer and Clark, 1948;Bywaters, 1950;Sokoloff, 1953). It is, therefore, only a very small percentage of cases in which the pericarditis progresses to fibrosis and constriction.…”

Rheumatoid Pericarditis

“…Old, healed pericarditis at post-mortem in rheumatoid arthritis has been variously reported as occurring in 11-50% of cases. Clinical evidence of pericarditis is much less frequent; for example, Wilkinson (1962) described 4 cases of acute pericarditis, with or without effusion, in 200 patients with rheumatoid arthritis seen over a period of six years.…”

Phenylbutazone-induced pericarditis.

“…As phenylbutazone is a drug often used in rheumatoid arthritis, phenylbutazoneinduced pericarditis must be distinguished from the pericarditis which appears in the course of the disease itself. The association of these two states will suggest a diagnosis of disseminated lupus erythematosus, but Wilkinson (1962) described four cases in which he excluded the latter. He raises the possibility of a greater incidence of rheumatoid pericarditis than is usually appreciated, since the condition tends to pass unrecognized in the course of a disorder characterized by widespread pain.…”