CT and MRI findings in a child with constrictive pericarditis.

Constrictive pericarditis is rare in children. We report computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in a 3-year-old girl. She had a swollen abdomen that increased in two months. CT and MRI showed a thickened pericardium (5.2 mm) without calcification. Both atria were enlarged and ventricles were relatively small. The engorged inferior vena cava had 2.8x the diameter of the descending aorta at the same level. Symptoms were dramatically improved after pericardiectomy. The histopathological features confirmed chronic pericarditis.