Diagnosis and treatment of constrictive pericarditis: From chest X-ray to pericardiectomy or anti-inflammatory therapy

Constrictive pericarditis (CP) consists of pericardial fibrotic thickening and calcification and causes the impaired diastolic filling of the ventricles. Echocardiography and other imaging modalities and left-right cardiac catheterization are used for diagnosis. The standard treatment for chronic CP is pericardiectomy. However, in the transient form of the disease, anti-inflammatory therapy should be the primary treatment option. In two cases of CP, the diagnostic process and the importance of distinguishing the chronic form of the disease from the transient form, and the difference in the two treatment modalities have been highlighted.