Key result
Pleuritis and pericarditis can present as unusual initial manifestations of mixed connective tissue disease.
Why the study?
Although pleuritis and pericarditis are common in MCTD, they are rarely seen as the initial manifestation.
Case Report (n=1)
This case highlights the importance of screening for connective tissue diseases, such as MCTD, in patients presenting with pericarditis and pleuritis.
Consider MCTD in unexplained adolescent pleuritis/pericarditis; leaves open prevalence of initial cardiac involvement.
Cardiac involvement has been reported in mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD). We describe a 16-year-old girl in whom pleuritis and pericarditis occurred as the initial clinical manifestations of MCTD. Although pleuritis and pericarditis form a common clinical entity in MCTD, it is rarely seen as an initial manifestation. If MCTD is suspected, the diagnosis can be made by the clinical findings and the occurrence of a high titre of antibody against ribonuclease-sensitive ribonucleoprotein (RNP). This report emphasizes the importance of screening for connective tissue disease in patients with pericarditis/pleuritis.
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Beier et al. (1992) conducted a case report in Mixed connective tissue disease (n=1). Mixed connective tissue disease was evaluated. Pleuritis and pericarditis can occur as an unusual initial clinical manifestation of mixed connective tissue disease, highlighting the importance of screening in such patients.
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