Clinical features and factors affecting in-hospital mortality of patients who underwent pericardiocentesis due to moderate to severe pericardial effusion

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the primary etiology of pericardial effusion in patients undergoing percutaneous pericardiocentesis. Possible in-hospital mortality related predictors were also investigated. Patients and Methods: A retrospective analysis was made of the clinical and laboratory features of 268 patients who underwent pericardiocentesis due to moderate to severe pericardial effusion between January 2009 and March 2020. Results: The patients comprised 57.5% males and 42.5% females with a mean age of 62.3±15.4 years. Cardiac compression was detected in 220 (82.1%) patients, of which 208 (77.6%) were clinically tamponade and 12 (4.5%) were asymptomatic cardiac compression. The most common symptom was dyspnea (58.6%) and 10.8% of patients were asymptomatic. Pericardial fluid was exudate in 235 (87.7%) patients. The most common causes were malignancy (37.3%) followed by idiopathic (22.1%) and iatrogenic (12.7%) causes. The patients with asymptomatic cardiac compression were more likely to have malignant effusion than those with other etiologies (p=0.001). In-hospital mortality developed in 37 (13.8%) patients. The independent predictors of in-hospital mortality were determined as follows; etiology other than infectious or idiopathic (OR = 3.447; 95% CI = 1.266, 9.386; p = 0.015), and receiving antithrombotic therapy (OR = 2.306; 95% CI = 1.078, 4.932; p=0.031). Conclusion: Malignancy is the most common cause of moderate to severe pericardial effusions. The detection of cardiac compression in asymptomatic patients may be an important indicator of malignancy. Receiving antithrombotic therapy and having a non-idiopathic and non-infectious etiology may be predictors of in-hospital mortality.