Constrictive pericarditis in rheumatoid arthritis.

Constrictive pericarditis is an unusual complication of rheumatoid arthritis, and its development appears to be uninfluenced by second-line therapy. Five patients are described who developed the disease, with possibly two more. Medical treatment is ineffective: the treatment of choice is surgical, and the postoperative prognosis is good. The crude prevalence rate for the association is 0.64% for males and 0.06% for females.