Can a DT booster shot = Pericarditis?

[James-Colins]

  
  Help me please,
  I'm a 32yr. old white male, 5'8", 150lbs
  I recently received a tetanus shot for a cut to the hand.
  (12-24 hours after shot) == I started off feeling lousy. Then came a fever that increased to
  about 104, accompanied by muscle aches throughout the body, fatigue, a dry cough, and
  felt really disoriented.   It was much worse than the flu.
  (36 Hrs after the shot) ==  I had about 102 temp, non-productive cough, swollen sore
  throat, swollen glands, headache,  thick coating in mouth (couldnt eat,drink,spit or
  swallow.) felt miserable in general.
  (up till 3 days after shot)  Coating in the mouth alternated between Thick and dry, ceasing
  on the 3rd night.  everything else remained the same.
  (day 4 till day 7) == Fever and headache would be slight in morning and get worse all day
  long. glands in throat remained real swollen, muscle
  aches remained (eased up a bit), cough was still persistant.
  (7 days after) == A differant Physician gave me Augmentin (amoxicillin) for the swollen
  glands, and Duratuss (guaifenesin) for cough.
  (10 days after) == Severe chest pain sent me to the hospital emergency room.
  (11 days after) == Diagnosed as Pericarditis. I was put on Ibuprofin for the Pericarditis.
  (14 days after) == Pericarditis had not improved much, Physician switched Ibuprofin to
  Indocin.
  (18 days after) == Still hadn't improved much, admitted in to ICU.
  they did some blood tests and couldn't find anything.
  (20 days after) == other than the blood tests the first day, the only thing done was keep
  me on a constant IV, (and continue the indocin). Pain had eased, so I went home.
  Indocin continued for about 12 more days. then ceased.
  All the doctor can tell me is that he has no idea what brought on the Pericardits, but his
  Medical opinion is that it isn't from the Tetanus shot.
  I'm 99.9% sure that it is from the shot.  I was in perfect health until I received the shot.
  I obtained my medical record and found that it says I received a Dt shot. A bit of research
  told me that Dt is for children, TD is for adults.
  And they have no way of telling me for sure which I got.
  Either way, there has to be some explanation for my coming down with Pericarditis.
  and possibly related, one of my knees that used to bother me occasionly, has been in
  constant pain for the last week.   And an old injury to my lower back has been increasingly
  acting up.  
  Anyone with knowlege in this area please help me to figure this whole thing out. Even if
  it's a book I can read, I've been unsuccesfull at finding a direct link through the internet.
  Thank's for any help you can offer,
  James
  
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[CCF CARDIO MD APS]

Dear James,
Although the cause of pericarditis is often not found in young otherwise healthy patients like yourself (and is often said to be viral induced), I agree with you that the timing is very suggestive of a direct relationship to the tetanus shot.  
I think that your best shot at this point in getting the care you need is to seek care with a rheumatologist as well as at least a consult by an infectious disease doctor.  The most skilled at an unusual case such as this would be found at a major university medical center, which are usually found in major cities like Boston, Phila, Cleveland, SanFrancisco, Los Angeles, Kansas City,etc.  I  can not stress enough that I am impressed that the pericarditis may be just a part of a larger diagnosis and it really is important that you seek such care as I have suggested.
I hope this information is useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for
general purposes only.  Only your physician can provided specific diagnoses and therapies.
Feel free to write back with further questions. Good luck!
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please
call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at
www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the
cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your
cardiac problem.