[Successful Steroid Therapy for Early Relapse of Immunoglobulin (Ig) G4 Related Constrictive Pericarditis].

The causes of constrictive pericarditis are known to include previous cardiac surgery, radiotherapy, collagen disease, and tuberculosis, but in recent years, reports of constrictive pericarditis due to immunoglobulin(Ig)G4-related diseases have increased. We report a case of IgG4-related constrictive pericarditis that relapsed early after pericardiectomy and was well controlled by steroid therapy. The patient was a 69-year-old man who was diagnosed with idiopathic constrictive pericarditis. He underwent pericardiectomy and very early postoperative course was favorable, but the disease recurred around a week or so. Postoperative pathological examination and immunohistochemistry revealed IgG4-related constrictive pericarditis, and steroid therapy was started. The patient's heart failure symptoms were alleviated, and thickened pericardium got thin following steroid therapy. During treatment of constrictive pericarditis, it is necessary to keep IgG4-related diseases in mind.