Constrictive pericarditis after heart transplantation: report of two cases.

We report two cases of constrictive pericarditis after heart transplantation. It is noteworthy that constriction developed after a healed intrathoracic infection in the two patients. Unlike previous reported experiences, pericardiectomy was uneventful and successfully performed, although incomplete improvement was achieved in one case.

[The significance of cytomegalovirus infection in the period after a heart transplant].

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is a frequent source of morbidity after heart transplantation. Risk factors for the development of CMV infection include the use of antilymphocyte preparations in the postoperative phase or as antirejection therapy, and seronegative patients who receive a heart from a seropositive donor. Clinical spectrum varies from a mild illness with low-grade fever and leukopenia, to a severe disease with organ manifestations.

[Thrombosis and thrombocytopenia associated with the use of unfractionated heparin in a female patient with unstable angina].

A case of heparin-induced platelet activation with thrombocytopenia and several arterial emboli in a 60-year-old woman suffering unstable angina is presented. The early recognition of the syndrome, with cessation of heparin and the use of unfractionated heparin, led to an immediate remission of the thrombocytopenia and thromboembolic complications.