Post-traumatic pericarditis: A single center review: Post-Traumatic Pericarditis.

Abstract

Background: Post-traumatic pericarditis is a rare and poorly studied entity that can have significant consequences on recovery and treatment after traumatic injury. Our objective was to identify the incidence, presentation, treatment, and complications of post-traumatic pericarditis at a level 1 trauma center.

Methods: We performed a single institution retrospective review of patients with post-traumatic pericarditis admitted to our trauma center from January 2010 to December 2022. We reviewed all patients with a discharge diagnosis of pericarditis after an associated trauma, as well as trauma patients that were at high risk based on procedures performed including those having cardiothoracic procedures.

Results: A total of 32 patients were identified with pericarditis out of 8,436 admitted patients with a chest AIS ≥1, giving an incidence of 0.38 % among those with thoracic injury. Penetrating and blunt mechanisms were evenly distributed. The majority had significant chest trauma on admission with a median chest-specific AIS of 3. Post-pericardiotomy pericarditis occurred in 8patients out of a total of 214 procedures that violated the pericardium for an incidence of 3.7 %. The majority (59.4 %) were treated with colchicine and 7 (20.5 %) patients required procedural intervention for significant effusions. Three (9.4 %) patients were found to have recurrent pericarditis.

Conclusion: Pericarditis is an uncommon sequela of traumatic injury but can have significant consequences and management varied widely among those diagnosed. Post-traumatic pericarditis is likely underrecognized, but a large prospective study would be necessary to further identify the true incidence and risk factors.