Objective: To describe a cluster of cases of pericarditis in a midwestern family of German and Danish ancestry.
Patients and methods: Retrospective review of available medical records identified 5 family members in 2 generations with confirmed diagnosis of pericarditis.
Results: Five family members, 3 males and 2 females, presented for medical evaluation of recurrent chest pain between 1969 and 1991. Physical examination resulted in the diagnosis of pericarditis with effusive and constrictive features. The age at presentation ranged from 8 to 46 years. Despite extensive investigations, an idiopathic etiology was assigned to each case. In follow-up, all 5 family members had recurrent episodes of chest pain, self-limiting or responsive to medical therapy, but the effusive component remained a notable feature of the syndrome.
Conclusions: Diagnosis of pericarditis in 5 family members may represent the first description of familial clustering of isolated pericarditis. In addition, 3 other family members had symptoms of chest pain, but pericarditis remained undiagnosed. The aggregate history suggests autosomal dominant inheritance with incomplete penetrance.