Recurrent pericarditis is rare in children and is considered idiopathic in most cases. Its course is chronic, and preventing recurrences is important for the patient’s quality of life. Although a treatment strategy in pediatric recurrent pericarditis has not yet been established, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most common treatment for management of this condition, followed by corticosteroids, colchicine, immunosuppressive agents, immunoglobulins, and interleukin-1β receptor antagonists (e.g. anakinra). Herein, we report a case of recurrent pericarditis with pericardial effusion in a 5-year-old child who presented with fever and epigastric pain. He responded poorly to NSAIDs and corticosteroid therapy, but was successfully treated with colchicine.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Anakinra in idiopathic recurrent pericarditis: a comprehensive case series and literature review Zeynep Toker Dincer, Sejla Karup, Erkin Yilmaz, Osman Corbali, Feyza Nur Azman, Melike Melikoglu, Serdal Ugurlu Zeitschrift für Rheumatologie.2024; 83(7): 587. CrossRef
Efficacy and Safety of Colchicine in Pediatric Pericarditis: A Systematic Review and Future Directions Mohammed Alsabri, Sarah Makram Elsayed, Ahmed Bostamy Elsnhory, Khaled Abouelmagd, Mohammed Ayyad, Basel F. Alqeeq, Abdelmonem Siddiq, Yousef Soliman, Muhammad Azan Shahid Pediatric Cardiology.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Pediatric Pericarditis: Update Rida Shahid, Justin Jin, Kyle Hope, Hari Tunuguntla, Shahnawaz Amdani Current Cardiology Reports.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Effects of Systemic Steroid Administration on Recurrence of Pericardial Effusion in Pediatric Patients After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Kieran Leong, Martha E. Heal, John L. Bass, Varun Aggarwal, Shanti Narasimhan, Ashish Gupta, Gurumurthy Hiremath Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.2020; 42(4): 256. CrossRef
Colchicine is an alkaloid that has been used for treating acute gouty arthritis, psoriasis, scleroderma and Behcet's syndrome. Colchicine decreased liver fibrosis in rats with carbon tetrachloride induced cirrhosis and in patients with many liver diseases. Therapeutic oral doses of colchicine may cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. The adverse effect of colchicine associated with the dose is bone marrow suppression, and especially neutopenia. Neutropenia has often been reported in patients have taken an overdose of colchicine. We describe a 64-year-old female liver cirrhosis patient with neutropenia that was induced by a therapeutic dose of colchicine.