ArticleOpen heart2023
Variations in current clinical practice of postoperative pericardial effusion: a questionnaire study.
Article in Open heart, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Postoperative pericardial effusion on routine echocardiography: A review of incidence, progression, and management : To dissolve or to be resolved.Netherlands heart journal : monthly journal of the Netherlands Society of Cardiology and the Netherlands Heart Foundation · 2026Review
- Cardiac tamponade.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivePostoperative pericardial effusion (PPE) occurs frequently after cardiac surgery, potentially leading to life-threatening cardiac tamponade. Specific treatment guidelines are currently lacking, possibly leading to variations in clinical practice. Our goal was to assess clinical PPE management and evaluate variation between centres and clinicians.
methodsA nationwide survey was sent to all interventional cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons in the Netherlands, regarding their preferred diagnostic and treatment modality of PPE. Clinical preferences were explored utilising four patient scenarios, each with a high/low echocardiographic and clinical suspicion of cardiac tamponade. Scenarios were also stratified by three PPE sizes (<1 cm, 1-2 cm, >2 cm).
resultsIn total, 46/140 interventional cardiologists and 48/120 cardiothoracic surgeons responded (27/31 contacted centres). Cardiologists favoured routine postoperative echocardiography in all patients (44%), whereas cardiothoracic surgeons preferred routine imaging after specific procedures, especially mitral (85%) and tricuspid (79%) valve surgery. Overall, pericardiocentesis (83%) was preferred over surgical evacuation (17%). Regarding all patient scenarios, cardiothoracic surgeons significantly preferred evacuation compared with cardiologists (51% vs 37%, p<0.001). This was also observed with cardiologists employed in surgical centres compared with non-surgical centres (43% vs 31%, p=0.02). Inter-rater analysis varied from poor to near-excellent (к 0.22-0.67), suggesting varying PPE treatment preferences within one centre.
conclusionThere is significant variation in the preferred management of PPE between hospitals and clinicians, even within the same centre, possibly due to the lack of specific guidelines. Therefore, robust results of a systematic approach to PPE diagnosis and treatment are needed to formulate evidence-based recommendations and optimise patient outcome.
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Registered trials
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