Occurrence of postpericardiotomy syndrome admissions: A population-based registry study

BACKGROUND: Postpericardiotomy syndrome (PPS) is a common complication after cardiac surgery. Previous epidemiological descriptions of the syndrome, however, are scarce. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This retrospective analysis included all patients hospital admission due to PPS in patients aged 20-79 years. Data were collected from the Finnish national registry that included data on all cardiovascular hospital admissions (n = 51 7669) during 9.5 years in 29 Finnish hospitals nationwide. RESULTS: There were 760 hospital admissions due to PPS during the study period. The patients were more likely male than female (67.8% versus 32.2%) with an age-adjusted RR of 2.37 (95% CI 1.85-3.02) for men (p < 0.0001). When evaluating the rate of PPS in relation to cardiac surgeries, female gender was associated with a higher incidence of PPS (RR 1.78; 95% CI 1.45-2.19; p < 0.001). The rate of PPS in relation to the number of cardiac surgery was highest in youngest patients followed by a gradual decrease (RR 0.59; 95% CI 0.55-0.65; p < 0.0001 per 10-year increment in age) with aging. CONCLUSIONS: Hospital admission due to PPS was most common in men in their sixties. When stratified by the total number of performed cardiac operations the incidence of PPS was higher among women and younger patients.