Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
Lyme carditis with pericarditis: A review of clinical cases
Kristina G Pereverzeva, Sergey S Yakushin, Department of Hospital Therapy, Course of Medical and Social Expertise, Ryazan State Medical University, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Ryazan 390026, Russia
Author contributions: Pereverzeva KG and Yakushin SS performed the study conceptualization, methodology; Pereverzeva KG contributed to the data curation, drafting of the manuscript and editing of the subsequent versions; Yakushin SS provided critical resources, contributed to the reviewing and editing of the various manuscript versions, performed supervision of the project, and performed project administration.
AI contribution statement: Portions of this manuscript were edited using the DeepSeek-V3 AI tool for language refinement. The authors were responsible and agree to accountability for all scientific content. Subsequently, the manuscript was subjected to copyediting by a native English speaker.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Sergey S Yakushin, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Hospital Therapy, Course of Medical and Social Expertise, Ryazan State Medical University, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 96 Stroykova Street, Ryazan 390026, Russia.
Received: March 26, 2026
Revised: May 22, 2026
Accepted: June 8, 2026
Published online: July 26, 2026
Processing time: 113 Days and 19.6 Hours
Revised: May 22, 2026
Accepted: June 8, 2026
Published online: July 26, 2026
Processing time: 113 Days and 19.6 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Pericardial involvement in Lyme carditis is rare but can range from asymptomatic effusion to tamponade. This review of 15 documented cases highlights that electrocardiogram changes may mimic myocardial infarction, serological confirmation is key, and timely antibiotic therapy leads to favorable outcomes. Clinicians in endemic regions should consider Lyme disease in unexplained pericarditis, especially in young patients.