Baseline features of the studied population according to age subgroups
| All patients (n=471) | Age 18.0–35 years (n=100) | Age 35.0–55 years (n=118) | Age 55.0–75 years (n=142) | Age >75 years (n=111) | P value* | |
| Age, mean (SD) | 55.0 (20.1) | 25.3 (5.1) | 46.6 (5.4) | 62.8 (5.3) | 80.8 (3.8) | – |
| Gender, n (%) | ||||||
| Female | 152 (32.3%) | 15 (15.0%) | 37 (31.4%) | 50 (35.2%) | 50 (45.0%) | <0.001 |
| Male | 319 (67.7%) | 85 (85.0%) | 81 (68.6%) | 92 (64.8%) | 61 (55.0%) | |
| Fever, n (%) | 206 (43.7%) | 55 (55.0%) | 55 (46.6%) | 58 (40.8%) | 45 (40.5%) | 0.257 |
| Chest pain, n (%) | 412 (87.5%) | 98 (98.0%) | 108 (91.5%) | 122 (85.9%) | 84 (75.7%) | <0.001 |
| Dyspnoea, n (%) | 135 (28.7%) | 10 (10.0%) | 27 (22.9%) | 45 (31.7%) | 53 (47.7%) | <0.001 |
| Pericardial rubs, n (%) | 104 (22.1%) | 33 (33.0%) | 34 (28.8%) | 29 (20.4%) | 8 (7.2%) | <0.001 |
| Widespread ST-segment elevation, n (%) | 227 (48.2%) | 69 (69.0% | 62 (52.5%) | 57 (40.1%) | 39 (35.1%) | 0.002 |
| Low voltages, n (%) | 35 (7.4%) | 4 (4.0%) | 11 (9.3%) | 11 (7.8%) | 9 (8.1%) | 0.756 |
| White blood cells (×103/μL), mean (SD) | 10 453.6 (3572.2) | 10 222.6 (3755.7) | 10 598.0 (3411.3) | 10 585.8 (3371.2) | 10 339.4 (3798.0) | 0.701 |
| CRP (mg/dL), mean (SD) | 104.7 (79.3) | 101.5 (60.9) | 101.7 (87.0) | 107.9 (84.6) | 106.7 (78.1) | 0.590 |
| CRP >10 mg/dL, n (%) | 441 (93.6%) | 97 (97.0%) | 114 (96.6%) | 129 (90.8%) | 101 (91.0%) | 0.193 |
| eGFR (mL/min), mean (SD) | 81.7 (19.4) | 102.6 (18.4) | 88.6 (30.1) | 82.1 (25.9) | 55.3 (20.2) | <0.001 |
| EF, %, mean (SD) | 60.6 (6.4) | 60.5 (1.9) | 60.9 (6.7) | 61.3 (7.5) | 59.5 (6.9) | 0.860 |
| PE, n (%) | 284 (60.3%) | 51 (51.0%) | 66 (55.9%) | 87 (61.3%) | 79 (71.1%) | 0.007 |
| Moderate/Large, n (%) | 116 (40.8%) | 14 (27.5%) | 27 (40.9%) | 35 (40.2%) | 40 (50.6%) | 0.12 |
| Mild, n (%) | 168 (59.2%) | 37 (72.5%) | 39 (59.1%) | 52 (59.8%) | 39 (49.4%) | |
| Pleural effusion, n (%) | 194 (41.2%) | 35 (35.0%) | 47 (39.8%) | 54 (48.6%) | 58 (40.8%) | 0.007 |
| Idiopathic/Postviral AP, n (%) | 343 (72.8%) | 89 (89.0%) | 84 (71.2%) | 91 (64.1%) | 79 (71.8%) | 0.654 |
| Autoimmune disease, n (%) | 34 (7.2%) | 4 (4.0%) | 10 (8.5%) | 10 (7.0%) | 10 (9.0%) | 0.695 |
| PCIS, n (%) | 49 (10.8%) | 1 (1.0%) | 13 (11.0%) | 26 (18.3%) | 9 (8.1%) | 0.365 |
| Postvaccination, n (%) | 17 (3.6%) | 3 (3.0%) | 6 (5.1%) | 4 (2.8%) | 4 (3.6%) | 0.997 |
| Neoplastic pericarditis, n (%) | 13 (2.8%) | 1 (1.0%) | 2 (1.7%) | 4 (2.8%) | 6 (5.4%) | 0.051 |
| Purulent pericarditis, n (%) | 2 (0.4%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1.8%) | – |
| Other causes, n (%) | 13 (2.8%) | 2 (2.0%) | 3 (2.5%) | 7 (5.9%) | 1 (0.9%) | 0.171 |
| First line therapy | ||||||
| Colchicine, n (%) | 330 (70.0%) | 91 (91.0%) | 83 (70.3%) | 92 (64.8%) | 64 (57.7%) | 0.001 |
| Aspirin/NSAIDs, n (%) | 393 (83.4%) | 92 (92.0%) | 106 (89.8%) | 112 (78.9%) | 63 (74.8%) | 0.004 |
| Corticosteroids, n (%) | 83 (17.6%) | 12 (12.0%) | 18 (15.3%) | 24 (16.9%) | 29 (26.1%) | 0.007 |
Values in bold indicate statistical significance at the p<0.05 level.
*The p value is calculated between group 4 and the other three groups.
CRP, C reactive protein; EF, ejection fraction; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; PCIS, postcardiac injury syndrome; PE, pericardial effusion; WBC, white blood cells.