Study of Etiological Profile, Clinical Profile and Short Term Outcome of Patients Presenting with Pericardial Effusion in a Tertiary Care Center, Nepal

Introduction: Pericardial effusion is one of the common cardiac problems in our？part of the world and adds burden to the health and economy of the country, as it is associated with high risk of morbidity and mortality. Our objective of the study was to determine the etiological spectrum of pericardial effusion, their clinical presentations and complications and assessing the usefulness of echocardiographic features of effusion in helping to determine the etiology. Methods: A cross-sectional observational prospective study of 63 patients with diagnosis of pericardial effusion was enrolled in the study. Pericardial effusion was diagnosed by echocardiography and pericardiocentesis was done in the cardiac catheterization room. Patients were followed up 3 monthly for 1 year and reassessed clinically and by echocardiography. Results: Patients presenting with pericardial effusion belonged to the age group of 8 to 88 years. The most common etiology was tuberculosis (36.5%) followed by malignancy (19%) and idiopathic/Viral (12.6%). Among malignancies, carcinoma lung was the most common cause followed by lymphoma. Pericardiocentesis was done in 46 patients (73%) and the approach was subxiphoid. The procedure-related complications were in 4 patients (6.3%) and there was no death as a consequence of the procedure. The total mortality was 12 (19%) with in-hospital death of 6 patients (9.5%). Conclusions: The study showed tuberculosis as the most common cause