Differential diagnosis and management of chronic pericarditis in the context of 2015 ESC guidelines on pericardial diseases

Differential diagnosis may be complex in patients with chronic pericarditis and according to both 2015 ESC guidelines and American Society of Echocardiography clinical recommendations require systematic application of multimodality imaging including targeted pericardial biopsies. In patients poorly responding to medical treatment or with specific etiology highly prone to constriction, pericardiectomy should be also considered as the ultimate treatment option.