Key result
Low QRS voltage fails to correlate with tamponade or effusion size in large pericardial effusions.
Why the study?
There are conflicting reports on the relationship between low QRS voltage and tamponade, effusion size, etiology, and no data on pericardial thickness or P wave voltage changes in large pericardial effusions.
Does low QRS voltage correlate with tamponade, effusion size, etiology, or pericardial thickness in patients with large pericardial effusion?
Observational (n=43)
Does low QRS voltage correlate with tamponade, effusion size, etiology, or pericardial thickness in patients with large pericardial effusion?
In patients with large pericardial effusions, low QRS voltage does not correlate with tamponade, effusion size, etiology, or pericardial thickness, whereas low P wave voltage and T-wave changes are more common.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Low QRS voltage does not indicate tamponade, size, or etiology in large effusions; leaves open its mechanism and diagnostic role.
There are varying reports on the electrocardiogram in pericardial effusions. Some correlate low QRS voltage with tamponade and the size of the effusion while others do not. Low voltage also appears to vary with the etiology. There are no reports on the influence of pericardial thickness or changes in the P voltage. The authors studied 43 patients with large effusions of whom 26 had tuberculosis and the remaining had viral/idiopathic etiology. Pericardial thickness was measured at chest computed tomography. They found no correlation between the low QRS voltage and tamponade, size of the effusion, etiology, or pericardial thickness. Low voltage of the P wave and T-wave changes were more frequent than low QRS voltage.
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Habashy et al. (2004) conducted an observational in Large pericardial effusion (n=43). Tamponade, effusion size, etiology, and pericardial thickness was evaluated on Low QRS voltage. Tamponade, effusion size, etiology, and pericardial thickness showed no correlation with low QRS voltage in patients with large pericardial effusions.
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