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DESCRIPTIONS of the syndrome of acute nonspecific or idiopathic pericarditis appearing since the report by Barnes and Burchell1 have added little to knowledge of the subject. They have, however, emphasized the variability of this type of pericarditis and have suggested to some the concept that the etiology may likewise be diverse. It is interesting that in 1947 Burchell,2 commenting on the differential diagnosis, stated: "When the diagnosis of acute pericarditis seems evident, the search for an etiologic factor should not be abandoned too quickly."Benign pericarditis has been reported under a wide variety of circumstances. The syndrome has been noted . . .
Miller et al. (1953) studied this question.