Transient constrictive pericarditis diagnosed by cardiac magnetic resonance, 67Ga scintigraphy, and positron emission tomography

Abstract Constrictive pericarditis occurs following pericardial fibrosis and often leads to refractory right side heart failure. Surgical relief is often required for correction of hemodynamic abnormalities. Two recent reports described a transient form of constrictive pericarditis that resolved without surgical intervention. In this case, we present representative images of transient constrictive pericarditis detected by late gadolinium enhancement of cardiac magnetic resonance, 67 Ga scintigraphy, and 18 FDG positron emission tomography before and after corticosteroid therapy. This is the first demonstration of the utility of imaging modalities in the diagnosis of transient constrictive pericarditis, and we document radiologic changes in pericardial inflammation after medical therapy.