Pericarditis differential diagnosis
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Pericarditis differential diagnosis
Many other conditions produce signs and symptoms similar to those produced by pericarditis. Keep in mind that pericarditis might also be one of the following: "part of a generalized disease", "apparently isolated", or "part of a disease that affects a nearby organ", and "sometimes is the presenting syndrome of multiple diseases."
Key Signs & Symptoms to Differentiate Pericarditis:
- Pain on the trapezius ridge(s), is a pathognomonic of pericarditis. Often pain can radiate mimicking pain that is commonly felt during angina.
- Central pleuritic chest pain (can also be indicative of pleurisy; however, may be both)
- Pain that lasts longer, is sharper and unresponsive to vasodilator therapy (similar "to that of cardiac ischemia")
- Most acute pericarditis ECGs are similar to ECGs of ischemic heart disease rather than infarction
- Pulmonary embolism can present similarly to pericarditis, but can be differentiated from pericarditis in the presence of one of the following findings: a nonspecifically altered ECG, a plerual rub, and non-precordial (someitmes precordial pain is present regardless).