My 20 year old healthy son was admitted to the hospital with elevated cardiac isoenzymes and chest pain.  Initially they thought it was a virus but the pain has persisted and they are now unsure what is causing it. they are leaving him on his medication and waiting to see if it gets better.  If it is a true pericarditis how long would symptoms last and is there a definitive test to diagnose?
Hello Welcome to Chat Doctor Going by your description seems like he suffered from viral pericarditis. Viral pericarditis is characterized by pain fever and rise in cardiac enzymes. There is no specific treatment for viral pericarditis except supportive treatment with analgesics, iv fluids and anti pyre tics. The pain in viral pericarditis can take around a month to abate, and the patient had to be on pain medications like diclofenac for the same. Prognosis of viral pericarditis is usually good. There is no definitive test that can establish a diagnosis. A 2 d echo along with signs of inflammation suggested by high ESR, high WBC counts, pericardial fluid accumulation together suggest a diagnosis of pericarditis. Occasionally if pericardial fluid is present, it can be aspirated and checked for its characteristics and bacterial growth. Wishing him good healthRegards