eMedicine Specialties > Pulmonology > Pleural Disorders

Pleurodynia

Author: Irina Petrache, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Occupational Medicine, Indiana University
Coauthor(s): Ninotchka Liban Sigua, MD, Fellow, Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Indiana University
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Apr 17, 2009

Introduction

Background

Pleurodynia is an uncommon complication of coxsackievirus B infection and is defined as the sudden occurrence of lancinating chest pain or abdominal pain attacks, commonly associated with fever, malaise, and headaches. Coxsackievirus B is an RNA Enterovirus, which usually causes an asymptomatic or brief upper respiratory tract or gastroenteric infection. In rare cases, other severe sequelae of coxsackievirus B infection develop, including meningitis and carditis.1

Also see the eMedicine article Coxsackieviruses.

Pathophysiology

The striated muscle is the actual anatomic structure targeted by the coxsackievirus B and is responsible for the attacks of severe chest pain. Therefore, the term pleurodynia may be a misnomer because only some patients with the condition actually develop pleuritis (ie, inflammation of the pleural surface). In patients with pleurodynia, the striated intercostal muscles necrose, which explains the frequent elevations in serum creatine kinase levels. Some of the more chronic sequelae, such as myocarditis, dermato-polymyositis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and possibly, juvenile-onset diabetes type I, are believed to be immune mediated.

The virus has an incubation time of 1 week in the gastrointestinal tract and then, through hematogenous dissemination, involves the target organs, most commonly the skeletal muscles but also the CNS (ie, meningitis, encephalitis) and myocardium (ie, carditis with or without associated pericarditis). Coxsackievirus B can be recovered in the stool or pharynx for up to 2 weeks after the resolution of the symptoms.

Frequency

United States

Coxsackievirus B was present in 24% of the 18,000 enteroviruses isolated and reported in the United States from 1970-1979.2 The estimated number of nonpolio enteroviral symptomatic infections is 5-10 million per year.

In regions of temperate climate, the infection is seasonal, with about 90% of infections occurring in the summer and early fall, and sometimes infections occur in epidemics.

The incidence of coxsackievirus B infection in neonates is 1 in 2000 live births.

International

Antibodies to coxsackievirus B serotypes are present in 75% of the population in developed countries. In the tropical and subtropical climate areas, the prevalence of the enteroviral infections is year-round.

Mortality/Morbidity

The severity of the coxsackievirus B infection is highest in infants and children. In infants who develop coxsackievirus B infection, 10% die, usually within the first 4 weeks of life most commonly from cardiac involvement. Fulminant hepatic failure, sepsis syndrome, and severe CNS involvement with seizures and apnea are also potential complications in this age group.3

Sex

Males are more commonly affected than females.

Age

Coxsackievirus B infection occurs most commonly in children younger than 15 years; half of these patients are younger than 5 years, and 30% are younger than 1 year. The disease is rare in patients older than 60 years. However, pleurodynia most commonly affects adults infected with the virus, with fewer than 10% of cases occurring in patients younger than 20 years. Of the 372 prospectively studied children aged 4-18 years with nonpolio enteroviral infections, only 3% developed pleurodynia. In contrast, 30 of the 78 mostly adult patients with coxsackievirus B-associated cardiac disease had pleurodynia. Therefore, the location of pain is believed to be predominantly thoracic in adults and abdominal in children.

Clinical

History

The onset of chest pain is acute. During attacks, the pain is severe, intense, and excruciating, lasting seconds to a minute. Pain is paroxysmal, occurring in attacks separated by minutes to hours. Severe attacks can result in difficulty breathing. The thoracic pain is usually over the lower ribs and is unilateral, but it can also occur over the front, back, or substernal area. Between attacks, patients usually have a constant, dull, pleuritic chest pain. The attacks usually persist for 3-5 days and rarely last longer than a month and may go through phases of remission and exacerbation.

  • Associated symptoms related to the viral infection may include the following:
    • Upper respiratory tract symptoms, including sore throat, rhinitis, and dry cough
    • Constitutional symptoms, including headaches (50%), fever, and malaise
    • GI symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea (50%); abdominal pain (usually in the epigastric area) in children
    • Testicular pain (ie, orchitis) in 10% of males

Physical

  • Fever (97%) and appropriate heart rate response (ie, tachycardia)
  • Respiratory system findings - Pharyngitis (85%), including herpangina, visible splinting of the chest during attacks, localized chest wall tenderness in the same area of pain (25%), and pleural friction rub (25%)
  • Other potential signs associated with the coxsackievirus B infection - Otitis (25%) and dermatitis (30%)

Causes

  • The classic etiologic agent for pleurodynia is coxsackievirus B, serotypes B1, B2, B3, B4, and B5, which are small, nonenveloped RNA viruses, in which an icosahedral capsid encloses the single-stranded RNA genome.
  • Other nonpolio enteroviruses, including echoviruses type 6 and 19 and coxsackievirus A, are also reported to cause syndromes very similar to that of coxsackievirus B infection, including pleurodynia.
  • Humans are the only known reservoir of the enteroviruses; transmission occurs via the fecal-oral route. The incubation time is usually  2-5 days. Potential risk factors for the transmission of the enteroviruses are poor sanitation and overcrowding. Intrafamilial spread is common.

More on Pleurodynia

Overview: Pleurodynia
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Pleurodynia
Treatment & Medication: Pleurodynia
Follow-up: Pleurodynia
References
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References

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Further Reading

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Keywords

pleurodynia, pleuritis, pleuritic pain, lancinating chest pain, costalgia, epidemic pleurodynia, Bornholm disease, Bornholm's disease, Devil grip, Devil's grip, epidemic myalgia, coxsackievirus B, enteroviruses, meningitis, carditis, Sylvest's disease, Sylvest disease, epidemic benign dry pleurisy

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Irina Petrache, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Occupational Medicine, Indiana University
Irina Petrache, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Thoracic Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Ninotchka Liban Sigua, MD, Fellow, Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Indiana University
Ninotchka Liban Sigua, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Chest Physicians, American College of Physicians, American Thoracic Society, and Society of Critical Care Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Helen M Hollingsworth, MD, Director, Adult Asthma and Allergy Services, Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Boston Medical Center
Helen M Hollingsworth, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, American College of Chest Physicians, American Thoracic Society, and Massachusetts Medical Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Managing Editor

Gregg T Anders, DO, Medical Director, Great Plains Regional Medical Command , Brook Army Medical Center; Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Disease, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Gregg T Anders, DO is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Chest Physicians, American College of Physicians, and American Thoracic Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

Timothy D Rice, MD, Associate Professor, Departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Timothy D Rice, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics and American College of Physicians
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Zab Mosenifar, MD, Director, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Director, Women's Guild Pulmonary Disease Institute, Executive Vice Chair, Department of Medicine, Cedars Sinai Medical Center; Professor of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Zab Mosenifar, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Chest Physicians, American College of Physicians, American Federation for Medical Research, and American Thoracic Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

 
 
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