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Walk the evidence base by book and chapter — the raw source passages that ground Ask, Differential, and the rest.
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Interleukin-1 blockade for the treatment of pericarditis. Pericarditis is a debilitating condition that results from profound inflammation of the pericardial tissue. Between 10 and 15% of first episodes of acute pericarditis will be followed by several episodes refractory to conventional treatment. Current standard of care for pericarditis treatment includes high-dose non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, colchicine, and systemic corticosteroids, each associated with potentially severe toxicities and nominal efficacy. Interleukin-1 (IL-1), an apical pro-inflammatory cytokine, plays an important role as an autocrine magnifier of systemic inflammation in pericarditis. Interruption of the IL-1 circuit has been shown to have a favourable risk profile in several disease states. In this review, we discuss the growing body of evidence which supports the use of IL-1 blockade in the treatment of recurrent pericarditis as well as provide practical considerations for the use of IL-1 blockade in clinical practice.