Pericarditis and pericardial effusion: one or two distinct diseases?

The main pericardial syndromes include acute and recurrent pericarditis, constrictive pericarditis, and chronic pericardial effusion in the absence of overt inflammation. Despite recent advances in pericardial syndromes, certain clinical scenarios depict remarkable peculiarities, and their management is often challenging for the clinician. Acute pericarditis is the most common pericardial disease and in most instances is accompanied by...