Acute pericarditis in the era of the invasive strategy in acute coronary syndromes – a case report

Background:    The invasive strategy in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) caused a necessity of differential diagnosis in other clinical situations with ST segment elevation. This article deals with the most important aspects of diagnosis and treatment of acute pericarditis.
    Case Report:    We describe the case of a 43-year-old gym teacher, admitted to our hospital during emergency service with suspected ACS. Given the typical ECG pattern and characteristic signs and symptoms, acute pericarditis was the primary diagnosis, which was confirmed later. Early and adequate diagnosis gave the opportunity to start guided treatment and saved this patient from a totally unnecessary angiography and possible complications from the invasive procedure.
    Conclusions:    This case report is a good example of differential diagnosis of acute pericarditis and ACS, which should especially interest general practitioners and emergency physicians.

Keywords: Acute pericarditis, acute coronary syndrome., diagnostics