Severe Calcific Chronic Constrictive Pericarditis as an Unexpected Cause of Death

Abstract

Chronic calcific constrictive pericarditis is a rare condition. It can cause severe morbidity and even mortality. The diagnosis may be difficult to establish due to its variable clinical signs. We report an autopsy case of a 54-year-old male with a past medical history of well treated hypertension, diabetes and dyspnea present of 2 weeks, who was discovered dead in his bed. The postmortem examination showed a large band of calcification of the pericardium with obliteration of the pericardial space. Both pericardium and epicardium were thickened with bread-and-butter appearance. Microscopic examination showed thickened pericadium which is formed by a fibrous paucicellular tissue containing extensive basophilic calcifications.

The Clinical Efficacy of Cedilanid and Isosorbide Dinitrate plus Pericardial Dissection for Chronic Constrictive Pericarditis in the Elderly and Its Influence on Plasma Endothelin, Atrial Natriuretic Peptide, and Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index

“…For some patients with tuberculosis in the active stage or intolerance to the operation, conservative treatment with internal medicine is a common practice, but the monotherapy e ciency of either medication or operation leaves much to be desired. e combination of medication and pericardial dissection is marginally explored, and the matching clinical guidance is also insufficient [4][5][6][7]. Previous research has shown that the combination of Xuedilan and isosorbide nitrate with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) decoction is associated with favorable clinical efficacy [8].…”