Pericardial effusions in sarcoidosis.

A case of sarcoid pericarditis is presented. The associated pericardial effusion was a transudate with a low complement level. Investigating the prevalence of pericardial effusions in sarcoid by echocardiography, we found small effusions in 19 percent of 48 consecutive patients with sarcoid. Additionally, ten previously reported cases of symptomatic parietal pericardial sarcoid are reviewed.