Pericardial effusion following pulmonary resection.
OBJECTIVE
Postoperative pericardial effusion commonly occurs after open heart surgery. However, after general thoracotomy such as pulmonary resection, there have been few reports of pericardial effusion. The purpose of this study is to investigate patients with pericardial effusion following pulmonary resection.


METHODS
Among 2,385 patients with pulmonary resection for lung neoplasm in our institute, eight patients, whose pericardium had never been opened during the operation, developed pericardial effusion. The clinical characteristics of the eight patients were analyzed.


RESULTS
Pericardial effusion after pulmonary resection was divided into two subtypes: pericardial effusion in three patients with left thoracotomy occurring within 30 days postoperatively, and pericardial effusion in the remaining five patients with right thoracotomy occurring more than 30 days postoperatively. Pericardiotomy or pericardiocentesis was performed in three symptomatic patients, and the remaining five asymptomatic patients were treated with diuretics. Pericardial effusion disappeared in three of the five patients about 1-3 months after the conservative treatment, while, in the remaining patients, because pericardial effusion had increased gradually, pericardiocentesis was performed.


CONCLUSIONS
From our experience, the treatment strategy of drainage for early pericardial effusion and diuretics for late pericardial effusion seems to be appropriate.
Tomimaru
Yoshito
Y
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases, Osaka, Japan.
Kodama
Ken
K
Okami
Jiro
J
Oda
Kazuyuki
K
Takami
Koji
K
Higashiyama
Masahiko
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010490:Pericardial Effusion / Q000209:etiology*; D011013:Pneumonectomy; D011183:Postoperative Complications