Acute nonspecific benign pericarditis.

Although several small series of cases of acute non-specific pericarditis have been reported in recent years, there are several points of interest in this series of 11 cases seen in private practice in a subtropical climate. Eight were seen in one year. The disease doubtlessly occurs more frequently and is more widely spread than is generally suspected and in many instances is misdiagnosed as coronary occlusion. The differential diagnosis usually is not difficult if one keeps the possibility of acute pericarditis in mind. The importance of specific diagnosis is obvious, because immediate and ultimate prognosis as well as management in acute pericarditis is different from that in coronary occlusion. Barnes and Burchell1stated that acute benign nonsuppurative pericarditis is an important problem and that there must be instances in daily practice in which the lack of appreciation of distinctions results in pericarditis being mistaken for acute coronary occlusion. In