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Pericarditis - bacterial - Overview

Alternative Names

Purulent pericarditis

Definition of Pericarditis - bacterial:

Bacterial pericarditis is irritation and swelling of the sac that surrounds the heart (pericardium), due to infection by bacteria.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Bacterial infections are one cause of pericarditis. Since the introduction of antibiotics, bacterial pericarditis has become rare.

It most often occurs in men between the ages of 20 and 50, usually after some type of respiratory infection. It can also occur after skin or mouth infections that produce bacterial infection of the blood (bacteremia) and after heart surgery.

The bacterial infection causes the pericardium to become swollen and inflamed. Pain occurs as a result of the inflamed pericardium rubbing against the heart. Fluid may build up in the pericardial sac.

The most common bacteria that cause this condition are:

Haemophilus influenza (also called H.flu)
Meningococci
Pneumococci
Staphylococci
Streptococci

Heart, section through the middle

Heart, front view

Pericardium

Bacterial pericarditis

Reviewed last on: 5/15/2008
Alan Berger, MD, Assistant Professor, Divisions of Cardiology and Epidemiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

LeWinter MM. Pericardial Diseases. In: Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Zipes DP. Libby: Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 70.

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