Acute pericarditis
Diagnostic criteria, telling it from STEMI, high-risk features, NSAID plus colchicine treatment, and recurrence.
Tier 1Condition
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- Inflammation of the pericardium, causing up to 5% of emergency presentations with non-ischaemic chest pain.
- ESC 2025 groups pericarditis and myocarditis as a spectrum, the inflammatory myopericardial syndrome (IMPS), used as an umbrella diagnosis until a more specific one is made.
- Most cases in Australia are idiopathic or viral and settle with NSAIDs plus colchicine.
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Sources
- Schulz-Menger J, Imazio M et al. 2025 ESC Guidelines for the management of myocarditis and pericarditis. Eur Heart J 2025;46(40):3952. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf192European Society of Cardiology, 2025
- Imazio M et al. A randomized trial of colchicine for acute pericarditis (ICAP). N Engl J Med 2013;369:1522-8New England Journal of Medicine, 2013
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
- 14 November 2026 Personal emails, About story and Australian-style copy