Serial cardiac magnetic resonance imaging for guidance of therapy management in patients treated with anakinra due to recurrent pericarditis

To determine the utility of serial cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging for guidance of therapy management in patients treated with anakinra due to recurrent pericarditis (RP), compared with C-reactive protein (CRP) assay alone. In 2018-21, we enrolled 18 (14.5 ± 1.8 years old, 72% males) consecutive RP patients treated with anakinra (100 mg/day in patients ≥ 18 years old; 2 mg/kg/day < 18 years old) due to RP corticosteroid-dependent or not responsive to colchicine or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. After hospitalization, they were 1:1 randomized to CMR [no pericardial oedema and/or late gadolinium enchantment (LGE)] or CRP (