Faculty Collaboration Database

A Triad of Pericarditis, Pericardial Effusion, and Pleural Effusion as the Predominant Presentation of Rheumatoid Arthritis - A Case Report. WMJ 2022 Dec;121(4):e75-e78

Date

01/14/2023

Pubmed ID

36637851

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85146364719 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   1 Citation

Abstract

We describe a case of a 67-year-old African American man who presented to the emergency department with a sharp, pleuritic chest pain and shortness of breath. After several admissions and extensive workup, he ultimately was diagnosed with a persistent pleural effusion, pericardial effusion, and secondary constrictive pericarditis due to rheumatoid arthritis. By highlighting immunological disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis in the differential diagnosis, in the setting of a refractory pericardial effusion and serositis, this case report addresses key aspects of the presentation both in the emergency and inpatient settings, reviews the criteria for a rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis, and emphasizes areas of importance in predominantly cardiopulmonary extra-articular manifestations of a typically musculoskeletal disease.

Author List

Devine A, Aljadah M, Weiner R, Nemesh I, Mohananey D

Authors

Michael M. Aljadah MD Instructor in the Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Divyanshu Mohananey MBBS Assistant Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Aged
Arthritis, Rheumatoid
Humans
Male
Pericardial Effusion
Pericarditis
Pericarditis, Constrictive
Pleural Effusion