Clinical Observations on Five Patients with Uremic Pericardial Tamponade

Abstract

PERICARDIAL inflammation is a relatively common complication of uremia. Although its occurrence seems superficially related to the degree of renal failure the pathogenesis is still obscure. The process may or may not produce pain, and pathologically is usually confined to an aseptic fibrinous inflammation, with a variable amount of exudate. It has been uncommon for tamponade to occur. Since uremic pericarditis is generally seen in the patients with the worst renal failure it is not surprising that death has usually intervened before secondary pericardial complications could become apparent.Now that dialysis and renal transplantation are becoming commonplace, changes in the . . .