MR imaging findings in 76 consecutive surgically proven cases of pericardial disease with CT and pathologic correlation

• Published in: The International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging Vol. 28; no. 5; pp. 1099 - 1109
• Main Authors: Young, Phillip M., Glockner, James F., Williamson, Eric E., Morris, Michael F., Araoz, Philip A., Julsrud, Paul R., Schaff, Hartzell V., Edwards, William D., Oh, Jae K., Breen, Jerome F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.06.2012; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Calcinosis - diagnosis; Cardiac Imaging; Cardiology; Chronic Disease; Edema, Cardiac - diagnosis; Female; Heart Neoplasms - diagnosis; Heart Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Heart Neoplasms - pathology; Heart Neoplasms - surgery; Humans; Imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Minnesota; Original Paper; Pericardial Effusion - diagnosis; Pericardiectomy; Pericarditis - diagnosis; Pericarditis - diagnostic imaging; Pericarditis - pathology; Pericarditis - surgery; Pericarditis, Constrictive - diagnosis; Pericarditis, Constrictive - diagnostic imaging; Pericarditis, Constrictive - pathology; Pericarditis, Constrictive - surgery; Pericardium - diagnostic imaging; Pericardium - pathology; Pericardium - surgery; Pleural Effusion - diagnosis; Predictive Value of Tests; Radiology; Recurrence; Retrospective Studies; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Pericarditis; Constriction; MRI; Pericardiectomy
• ISSN: 1569-5794; 1573-0743; 1875-8312
• DOI: 10.1007/s10554-011-9916-0

To describe findings of patients with surgically confirmed pericardial disease on state of the art MR sequences. Retrospective review was performed for patients who underwent pericardiectomy and preoperative MR over a 5 year period ending in 2009. Patients’ records were reviewed to confirm the diagnosis of chronic recurrent pericarditis, constrictive pericarditis, or pericardial tumor. MR imaging findings of pericardial thickness, IVC diameter, presence or absence of pericardial or pleural effusion, pericardial edema, pericardial enhancement, and septal “bounce” were recorded. Patients with constriction had a larger IVC diameter (3.1 ± 0.4 cm) than patients with recurrent pain and no constriction (2.0 ± 0.4 cm). Mean pericardial thickness for the 16 patients with chronic recurrent pericarditis but no evidence of constriction was 4.8 ± 2.9 mm. Mean pericardial thickness for patients with constriction was 9.2 ± 7.0 cm with calcification, and 4.6 ± 2.1 cm without calcification. 94% of patients with chronic recurrent pericarditis had gadolinium enhancement of the pericardium, while 76% of patients with constriction had pericardial enhancement. Septal “bounce” was present in 19% of chronic recurrent pericarditis cases and 86% of constriction cases. 5 patients had a pericardial neoplasm, 1 of which was not identified preoperatively. State of the art MR techniques can identify significant and distinct findings in patients with chronic recurrent pericarditis, constrictive pericarditis, and pericardial tumors.