Acute purulent pericarditis caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae in an intravenous drug abuser

Background: infections are among the most serious complications experienced by intravenous drug abusers. however, there have been rare reports of the cases with acute pericarditis caused by klebsiella pneumoniae. case report: in this study we reported a case of purulent pericarditis caused by klebsiella pneumoniae in an intravenous drug abuser. the patient was completely treated by adequate surgical drainage and effective intravenous antibiotic therapy. discussion: infections are among the major complications of drug use. purulent pericarditis usually occurs as a complication of another illness, like surgical wound infection, mediastinal abscess, lung abscess, or severe sepsis. aggressive surgical and medical treatments would thus be lifesaving.