Percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy for the treatment of cardiac tamponade and large pericardial effusions: Description of technique and report of the first 50 cases

Objectives. This study describes the technique, clinical characteristics and results of the first 50 patients undergoing percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy as part of a multicenter registry. Background. Percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy involves the use of a percutaneous balloon dilating catheter to create a nonsurgical pericardial window. Methods. Patients eligible for percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy had either cardiac tamponade (n = 36) or a moderate to large pericardial effusion (n = 14). In addition to clinical follow-up, serial echocardiograms and chest X-ray films were obtained. Results. The procedure was considered successful in 46 patients after a mean follow-up period of 3.6 ± 3.3 months. Two patients required an early operation, one for bleeding from a pericardial vessel and one for persistent pericardial catheter drainage. Two patients required a late operation for recurrent tampomde. Minor complications of the procedure included fever in 6 of the first 37 patients (studied before the prophylactic use of antibiotic agents), thoracentesis or chest tube placement in 8 and a small spontaneously resolving pneumothorax in 2. Despite the short-term success of this procedure the long-term progcosis of the 44 patients with malignant pericardial disease remained poor (mean survival time 3.3 ± 3.1 months). Conclusions. Percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy is successful in helping to manage large pericardial effusions, particularly in patients with a malignant condition. It may become the preferred treatment to avoid a more invasive procedure for patients with pericardial effusion and a limited life expectancy.