title: A novel prognostic marker in acute ischemic stroke: small pericardial effusion.
abstract: The study aimed to evaluate the prognostic importance of small pericardial effusion (SPE) found on echocardiography in a cohort of patients hospitalized for acute ischemic stroke. We prospectively followed a series of 408 consecutive first-ever acute ischemic stroke patients aged ≥50 years who were admitted to the hospital within 24 h of the onset of stroke symptoms. All of the patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography within the first 48 h. Exclusion criteria were cardiothoracic surgery or acute myocardial infarction within the previous 6 months, a moderate or greater pericardial effusion (>1 cm if circumferential), and inadequate visualization of the pericardial space. The patients were followed for 1 year or until death, whichever came first. SPE was noted in 64 (15.7 %) of the patients. Mortality at 1 year was greater for patients with a small effusion (n = 21, 32.8 %) compared to those without an effusion (n = 40, 11.6 %, p < 0.001). After adjustment for age, demographics, medical history, and other echocardiographic findings, SPE remained associated with higher mortality (OR 2.515; 95 % CI 1.188-5.477; p = 0.008). This study is the first to demonstrate that the presence of SPE is associated with increased mortality in patients with first-ever acute ischemic stroke.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Haydarpaşa Numune Education and Research Hospital, Tıbbıye Cad. No. 40, Uskudar, Istanbul, Turkey. murbit2@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Biteker
authors.forename: Ahmet Ilker
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Tekkeşin
authors.forename: Akın
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dayan
authors.forename: Cemile Handan
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Mısırlı
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000401:mortality*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010490:Pericardial Effusion / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000401:mortality*; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020521:Stroke / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000401:mortality*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers