Clinical and cytological correlations in pericardial effusions with cardiac tamponade

We studied 27 patients diagnosed with pericardial effusion with cardiac tamponade on which pericardiocentesis was performed. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the benefits and limits of the cytological examination of the pericardial liquid in the etiological diagnosis and the treatment of patients with cardiac tamponade. The pericardial liquid taken was examined macroscopically, biochemically (content of proteins, glucose, cholesterol, and LDH), cytologically (MGG stained smears from pericardial liquid) and bacteriologically. The obtained results were compared to the clinical data, the laboratory and paraclinical tests, to differentiate the cause and therapeutically procedure. The cardiac tamponade remitted after pericardiocentesis in all patients. The pericardial liquid was exudate (Ligth criteria) in 82% of all patients. The cytological examination of the pericardial liquid showed malignant smear in 40.74% of the patients, smear of the TBC specific inflammation type in 7.40% patients, smear of non-specific inflammation type in 25.94% of patients, reactive type smear in 25.9% of patients.