Korean Circulation Journal

The Korean Society of Cardiology (대한심장학회)
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Constrictive Pericarditis Long after a Gunshot Wound

  • Choi, Jung-Ho (Department of Cardiology, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine) ;
  • Uhm, Jae-Sun (Department of Cardiology, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine) ;
  • Lee, Sang-Eun (Department of Cardiology, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine) ;
  • Chun, Kyung-Hyeon (Department of Cardiology, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine) ;
  • Lee, Hye-Jeong (Department of Radiology, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine) ;
  • Lee, Seung Hyun (Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine) ;
  • Hong, Geu-Ru (Department of Cardiology, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine) ;
  • Lee, Moon-Hyoung (Department of Cardiology, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine)
  • Received : 2014.08.14
  • Accepted : 2014.10.01
  • Published : 2015.07.30
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Abstract

Constrictive pericarditis is an uncommon post-inflammatory disorder characterized by a variably thickened, fibrotic, and frequently calcified, pericardium. Etiology of the constriction can occur for many reasons. Although foreign bodies are not the common cause of constrictive pericarditis, the long-term presence of foreign bodies, like bullets, is presumed to cause chronic constrictive pericarditis even after a very long asymptomatic period. A 69-year-old patient with atrial flutter was admitted to the hospital. A cardiac computed tomography showed a bullet located adjacent to the right atrium. The transthoracic echocardiography showed a thickened pericardium and septal bouncing motion, which were compatible with constrictive pericarditis. The history of the patient revealed an injury by gunshot during the Korean War in 1950. Radiofrequency ablation of the atrial flutter was performed, and after ablation, the bullet was removed surgically. The patient was discharged home after surgery without complications.

Keywords

References

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