Constrictive pericarditis 20 years after surgical aortic valve replacement

Acid-fast staining, mycobacterial culture, interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA), and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test of sputum and pleural fluid were all negative for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Since increased pericardial thickening and calcification strongly suggested CP, we clinically diagnosed CP as a complication of cardiac surgery. [...]we ruled out postradiotherapy, malignancy, trauma, asbestosis, sarcoidosis, uremic pericarditis, connective tissue disorder, and systemic IgG4-related disease, based on the history and additional test results. [...]in this case, CP is a late complication of cardiac surgery.