View clinical trials related to Pericarditis Acute.
Filter by:Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle. Pericarditis is inflammation of the lining surrounding the heart muscle. Symptoms of these conditions can include pain in the chest and rapid or irregular heartbeat. There are many different causes for myocarditis and pericarditis including COVID-19 infection. The MYCOVACC study will identify patients using local screening strategies, including research communications, care provider referrals, and medical record review. The retrospective component of the study will collect information about patients suffering from vaccine associated myopericarditis and COVID-19 associated myopericarditis. Consenting patients will then be prospectively followed according to standard of care protocols. The main objectives of MYCOVACC are to describe the rate of major adverse cardiovascular events, functional outcomes including quality of life, and myocardial recovery through imaging.
The treatment of acute pericarditis is empiric and is based on treatment with medications with anti-inflammatory properties such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) and corticosteroids. However, this therapy is given as a relatively long course of therapy (≥ 3 weeks) and can be associated with substantial side effects. Dexamethasone is a potent corticosteroid that has not been investigated an alternative to conventional therapy in patients with acute pericarditis. Dexamethasone is an inexpensive drug and can be given in an oral tablet form. It has a quick onset of action, relatively long duration of action and is therefore often given in high doses for short periods. Dexamethasone has been shown to be a safe therapeutic option in ITP (Immune Thrombocytopenia), another disease in which steroids are an accepted treatment option. The abundant data on using dexamethasone in comparison to longer prednisone-based regimens has been evaluated in this disease and has shown to be effective and without the longer exposure time to steroids and potential side effects. This data shows that dexamethasone can be a safe therapeutic option. The investigators hypothesize that therapy with short term, high dose dexamethasone will offer better clinical responses to NSAID therapy in the treatment of acute pericarditis with less potential side effects compared to NSAID therapy. The Investigators aim to conduct a randomised, non-blinded trial assessing the use of dexamethasone as an alternative to NSAID for use in patients with acute pericarditis.