Pericarditis - bacterial

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Heart, section through the middle

Heart, front view

Pericardium

Bacterial pericarditis

Pericarditis - bacterial

Alternative Names:

Purulent pericarditis
Symptoms:

chest pain
- radiating to the neck, shoulder, back or abdomen
- described as sharp, stabbing
- increases with breathing
the preferred position to relieve the pain is upright, standing or sitting
difficulty breathing
splinting of ribs with deep breathing (bends over of holds chest when breathing)
dry cough
anxiety
fatigue
fever
sweating
chills

Signs and tests:

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When listening to the heart through a stethoscope, the health care provider may be able to hear a pericardial rubbing sound, and heart sounds may be faint or distant. There may be other signs of fluid in the pericardium (pericardial effusion).

If the disorder is severe, there may be signs of fluid in the space around the lungs (pleural effusion), such as decreased breath sounds. The person may appear toxic (septic shock) and critically ill. There may be signs of associated pneumonia.

Doctors may suspect this disorder when one of the following tests shows an abnormal amount of fluid in the pericardial sac:

This condition is diagnosed when the fluid around the pericardial sac is shown to be infected with bacteria. The following tests help doctors make this diagnosis