How long does it take to recover from viral pericarditis?
Viral infections are usually blood-borne and often infect the myocardium as well as the pericardium. Pneumococci or other primary pulmonary pathogens usually infect the pericardium by extension from an adjacent pneumonitis; the common causes of bacteremias – staphylococci, meningococci and H. influenzae – are more likely to reach the pericardium through the blood Stream. Viral pericarditis. The viruses typically causing this disease produce a relatively mild inflammatory reaction that is associated with focal damage to the adjacent myocardium. The response varies from a small amount of serous fluid with mononuclear cells and fibrinogen to a large, neutrophil-rich, bloody effusion. The tissue damage is the result of: Direct cellular damage by the infecting virus Destruction of viral-infected cells by sensitized T-lymphocytes Antibody-dependent, cell-mediated cytotoxicity (null cell-dependent). The cause of pericarditis is often hard to determine. In most cases doctors are either unable
