How do you assess pericarditis?
To diagnose pericarditis, a health care provider will usually examine you and ask questions about your symptoms and medical history. A stethoscope is typically placed on the chest and back to listen to heart sounds. Pericarditis causes a specific sound, called a pericardial rub.
What are nursing interventions for pericarditis?
Administer the prescribed antibiotic and anti-pyretic medications. Use the antibiotic to treat bacterial infection (pericarditis), which is the underlying cause of the patient’s hyperthermia. Use the fever-reducing medication to stimulate the hypothalamus and normalize the body temperature.
What should the nurse understand are the objectives of pericarditis management?
Although constrictive pericarditis, myocardial disease, and tamponade are rare in patients with relapsing pericarditis, incessant recurrences can severely impair quality of life in some patients. The goals of management should be symptomatic relief, prevention of recurrences, and restriction of physical activity.
Which intervention is appropriate for a patient with pericarditis?
Patients with acute pericarditis should be treated empirically with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Colchicine may be used as monotherapy or in combination with a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug for the first episode of acute pericarditis.
What is the best test for pericarditis?
The diagnostic test of choice for large effusions, cardiac tamponade, and constrictive pericarditis is two-dimensional Doppler echocardiography.
What are the potential risk factors for pericarditis?
Pericarditis causes & risk factors
- A past heart attack.
- Autoimmune diseases.
- Trauma or injury from an accident.
- Certain bacterial, viral and fungal infections.
- Kidney failure.
- Rarely, certain medications such as phenytoin to treat seizures and procainamide to treat irregular heartbeats.
What are the complications of pericarditis?
Potential complications of pericarditis include:
- Fluid buildup around the heart (pericardial effusion). The fluid buildup can lead to further heart complications.
- Thickening and scarring of the heart lining (constrictive pericarditis).
- Pressure on the heart due to fluid buildup (cardiac tamponade).
Why is pericarditis relieved by leaning forward?
One of the most distinct features is the tendency for a decrease in intensity when the patient sits up and leans forward. This position (seated, leaning forward) tends to reduce pressure on the parietal pericardium, particularly with inspiration.
What indicator is considered the most characteristic symptom of pericarditis?
The most common sign of acute pericarditis is chest pain, usually worsened when taking a deep breath. This pleuritic chest pain begins suddenly, is often sharp, and is felt over the front of the chest.
What is the characteristic finding when you are examining a patient with pericarditis?
Characteristic clinical findings in pericarditis include pleuritic chest pain and pericardial friction rub on auscultation of the left lower sternal border. Electrocardiography may reveal diffuse PR-segment depressions and diffuse ST-segment elevations with upward concavity.
What are the ECG changes in pericarditis?
The electrocardiogram (ECG) is a useful, simple tool that may aid in the diagnosis of acute pericarditis. Typical ECG findings include diffuse concave-upward ST-segment elevation and, occasionally, PR-segment depression.