Constrictive pericarditis after lung transplantation: an under-recognized complication

Abstract

Primary graft dysfunction, acute rejection, and infection account for most of the early morbidity after lung transplantation, with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome accounting for most late morbidity. Mediastinal and pericardial complications, in the form of constriction, are not common. We present 4 patients with constrictive pericarditis after lung transplantation and recommend that constrictive pericarditis be considered in the differential diagnosis in lung transplant recipients who present with signs and symptoms of systemic and pulmonary venous congestion.