New Clinical Guidance on Pericarditis

Background and Objective

This statement, based on expert consensus, discusses all pericardial diseases including pericarditis, pericardial effusion, constrictive pericarditis, and pericardial masses, but mainly focuses on acute pericarditis. The document proposes new diagnostic criteria for pericarditis that emphasize the presence of classic pleuritic chest pain.

Key Recommendations

Diagnosis

• Patients must have pleuritic chest pain or equivalent. The diagnosis must include at least one additional finding:

  • Pericardial friction rub (present in fewer than 33% of patients)

  • Electrocardiogram changes consisting of diffuse ST-segment elevation, PR-segment depression, or both (present in up to 60% o…