What medications are prescribed for patients with pericarditis?

Treatment

  • Pain relievers. Pericarditis pain can usually be treated with over-the-counter pain relievers, such as aspirin or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others).
  • Colchicine (Colcrys, Mitigare). This drug reduces inflammation in the body.
  • Corticosteroids. Corticosteroids are strong medications that fight inflammation.

Which antibiotic is best for pericarditis?

Once bacterial pericarditis is suspected, empiric parenteral antibacterial therapy should be started immediately. In immunocompetent patients, the antibiotic regimen is vancomycin 15 mg/kg IV q12h plus ceftriaxone 1-2 g IV q12h.

What is the treatment for acute pericarditis?

Patients with acute pericarditis should be treated empirically with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Colchicine may be used as monotherapy or in combination with a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug for the first episode of acute pericarditis.

Is colchicine used for pericarditis?

Colchicine has since been the focus of many observational and randomized studies for pericardial diseases. In fact, it is now a class IA medication to treat acute and recurrent pericarditis. Despite the gastrointestinal possible side-effects, colchicine is considered a safe anti-inflammatory drug.

What is the best anti-inflammatory for pericarditis?

Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs — For nearly all patients with acute idiopathic or viral pericarditis, we recommend NSAIDs (in combination with colchicine) as the initial treatment (algorithm 1).

Which NSAID is best for pericarditis?

If laboratory data support the clinical diagnosis, symptomatic treatment with NSAIDs should be initiated. Because of its excellent safety, the preferred NSAIDs is ibuprofen in a dose of 600 to 800 mg orally, three times daily with discontinuation if pain is no longer present after two weeks [8].

How fast does colchicine work for pericarditis?

Addition of colchicine to standard therapy results in earlier reduction in pericarditis symptoms, greater remission at 1 week, and reduces the rate of recurrent pericarditis.

How long do you take colchicine for pericarditis?

Colchicine should be administered for a total of three months for patients with an initial episode of acute pericarditis. In ICAP, colchicine was given without a loading dose as 0.5 mg twice daily for three months for patients weighing >70 kg or 0.5 mg once daily for patients weighing ≤70 kg.

Which Nsaid for pericarditis?

Colchicine is recommended as first-line therapy for acute pericarditis as an adjunct to aspirin/NSAID therapy….Table 1. Dosing of the Most Commonly Prescribed Anti-Inflammatory Therapy for Acute Pericarditis.

Drugs Ibuprofen
Usual Dosing 600 mg every 8 hr.

How long should I take colchicine for pericarditis?

Is prednisone used for pericarditis?

Abstract. Background— Corticosteroid use is widespread in recurrent pericarditis, even if rarely indicated, and high doses (eg, prednisone 1.0 to 1.5 mg · kg−1 · d−1) are generally recommended, although only weak evidence supports their use with possible severe side effects.

Is aspirin or ibuprofen better for pericarditis?

In this setting, however, aspirin is generally the first choice to treat pericarditis, but doses should be increased to reach antiinflammatory effects (from 100 to 300 mg to up to 650 to 1000 mg three times per day). (See ‘NSAID dosing’ above.)