1. Introduction
1.1 What is new in pericardial diseases?
2. Epidemiology, aetiology and classification of pericardial diseases
2.1 Epidemiology
2.2 Aetiology
3. Pericardial syndromes
3.1 Acute pericarditis
3.1.1 Clinical management and therapy
3.1.2 Prognosis
3.2 Incessant and chronic pericarditis
3.3 Recurrent pericarditis
3.3.1 Therapy
3.3.2 Prognosis
3.4 Pericarditis associated with myocardial involvement (myopericarditis)
3.4.1 Definition and diagnosis
3.4.2 Management
3.4.3 Prognosis
3.5 Pericardial effusion
3.5.1 Clinical presentation and diagnosis
3.5.2 Triage and management
3.5.3 Therapy
3.5.4 Prognosis and follow-up
3.6 Cardiac tamponade
3.7 Constrictive pericarditis
3.7.1 Clinical presentation
3.7.2 Diagnosis
3.7.3 Therapy
3.7.4 Specific forms
3.7.4.1 Transient constrictive pericarditis
3.7.4.2 Effusive-constrictive pericarditis
3.7.4.3 Chronic constrictive pericarditis
4. Multimodality cardiovascular imaging and diagnostic work-up
4.1 Multimodality imaging
4.1.1 Chest X-ray
4.1.2 Echocardiography
4.1.6 Cardiac catheterization
4.1.7 Multimodality imaging
4.2 Proposal for a general diagnostic workup
5. Specific aetiologies of pericardial syndromes
5.1 Viral pericarditis
5.1.2 Definition and clinical spectrum
5.1.3 Pathogenesis
5.1.4 Diagnosis
5.1.5 Identification of viral nucleic acids
5.1.6 Therapy
5.2 Bacterial pericarditis
5.2.1 Tuberculous pericarditis
5.2.1.1 Diagnosis
5.2.1.2 Management
5.2.2 Purulent pericarditis
5.2.2.1 Epidemiology
5.2.2.2 Diagnosis
5.2.2.3 Management
5.3 Pericarditis in renal failure
5.4 Pericardial involvement in systemic autoimmune and
autoinflammatory diseases
5.5 Post-cardiac injury syndromes
5.5.1 Definition and diagnosis
5.5.2 Management
5.5.3 Prevention
5.5.4 Prognosis
5.5.4.1 Post-myocardial infarction pericarditis
5.5.4.2 Postoperative effusions
5.6 Traumatic pericardial effusion and haemopericardium
5.7 Pericardial involvement in neoplastic disease
5.8 Other forms of pericardial disease
5.8.1 Radiation pericarditis
5.8.2 Chylopericardium
5.8.3 Drug-related pericarditis and pericardial effusion
5.8.4 Pericardial effusion in metabolic and endocrine disorders
5.8.5 Pericardial involvement in pulmonary arterial hypertension
5.8.6 Pericardial cysts
6. Age and gender issues in pericardial diseases
6.1 Paediatric setting
6.2 Pregnancy, lactation and reproductive issues
6.3 The elderly
7. Interventional techniques and surgery
7.1 Pericardiocentesis and pericardial drainage
7.2 Pericardioscopy
7.3 Pericardial fluid analysis, pericardial and epicardial biopsy
7.4 Intrapericardial treatment
7.5 Pericardial access for electrophysiology
7.6 Surgery for pericardial diseases
7.6.1 Pericardial window
7.6.2 Pericardiectomy
8. Perspective and unmet needs
9. To do and not to do messages from the pericardium guidelines
10 Web addenda
References