Why the study?
What is the diagnostic accuracy and etiology profile of pericardial fluid cytology compared to pericardial biopsy?
Population
113 patients (56 males and 57 females) providing 128 pericardial fluid specimens over a 6-year period
Comparison
Pericardial fluid cytology vs Pericardial biopsy
Design
Cohort
Authors
Loading...
May support cytology over biopsy for pericardial effusion evaluation; leaves open need for prospective validation before practice change.
What is the diagnostic accuracy and etiology profile of pericardial fluid cytology compared to pericardial biopsy?
Pericardial fluid cytology is superior to pericardial biopsy in diagnosing metastatic carcinoma, with lung carcinoma being the most common cause of malignant pericardial fluid.
Dragoescu et al. (2013) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: