Radiation-related pericarditis

To determine the incidence of pericardial effusion in patients undergoing upper mantle radiation therapy, 81 patients with Hodgkin's disease, stages I to IIIB, were selected from a protocol series of 98 patients. Twenty-four patients (29.6 percent) met X-ray criteria for the presence of pericardial effusion. Eleven of the 24 also underwent right heart catheterization to confirm the presence of pericardial effusion and to define any hemodynamic abnormality. Fourteen patients were found to have transient effusion. Five of the 11 patients have had partial pericardiectomy for symptoms and signs of cardiac tamponade. There has been no evidence of recurrent Hodgkin's disease in these surgically treated patients. Ninety-two percent of the pericardial effusions occurred in the first 12 months after the end of radiation therapy. Therapeutic implications depend on elucidation of the natural history of this process. At present close follow-up is necessary with surgical intervention for signs or symptoms of cardiac tamponade.