Influenza virus pericarditis

By injection of the left brachial artcry, renal cysts and neoplasms can bc detected. Patients with hypertension can be safely examined by injection into the left brachial artery. Direct puncture of the brachial artery is an easy procedure when a special vascular necdlc is employed. Because of the superficial location of this artery in the antecubital fossa, direct puncture is easier than is usually thought. It is believed that this method will significantly

Influenza

Virus

An interesting case report of influenza virus pericarditis has recently been published by H. M. Hildebrandt et al.* The isolation of Asian influenza virus from the pericardial fluid of a 5 year old child with pericarditis confirms the suspicion of many clinicians of a relation between viral infection * Hildebrandt, H. M., Maassab, H. F. and Willis, P. W. III. Influenza virus pericarditis. Report of a case with isolation of Asian influenza virus from the pericardial fluid. Am. J. Dis. Child, 104: 579, 1962.

adiancc angiography and lead to its wide use. However, the greatest application of this method is in visualization of the vessels in the neck because of the east of performance of this method of angiography and the good patient tolerance of the procedure. Here the site of injection is away from the diseased vessels in the neck whereas with direct injection into the common carotid artery the needle would be at the site of the disease in the vessels in the neck.

Pericarditis and pericarditis. This child also had serologic evidence of acute influenza. The isolation of the virus seven to ten days after onset of the disease in this patient suggests “that pericarditis is the result of the virus infection itself” rather than a postinfectious autoimmune reaction, as some authors suggest. Thus, highdosage steroid therapy of patients with pericarditis might be contraindicated because of possible potentiation of the infectious process by the steroids.

THE

AMERICAN

JOURNAL

OF

CARDIOLOGY