TB Pericarditis Non Cardiac Risk Score Calculator

TB Pericarditis Non Cardiac Risk Score Explanation and Clinical Context This clinical scoring system is designed to support the identification of tuberculous pericarditis in patients who present with pericardial effusion without dominant cardiac causes. The score uses simple non cardiac clinical indicators that reflect systemic inflammatory and infectious processes including fever night sweat weight loss prolonged cough positive tuberculosis exposure and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. A higher score indicates a stronger alignment with the systemic manifestations commonly seen in active tuberculosis infection.

Patients with a total score of four or higher are considered to have a high probability of tuberculous pericarditis which may warrant early initiation of antituberculosis therapy depending on clinical judgment and availability of confirmatory testing. A score of three reflects intermediate probability and should prompt targeted diagnostic evaluation while a score below three suggests low likelihood although follow up remains essential. This scoring tool does not replace microbiological or imaging confirmation but provides structured support for decision making especially in resource limited or high prevalence settings.

Reference Mayosi BM et al. Tuberculous Pericarditis Lancet 2005 Reuter H et al. Diagnosis and Management of Pericardial Effusion in Tuberculosis Heart 2014 WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2023