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Published on: May 13, 2019
Effect of Right Heart Systolic Function on Outcomes in Patients with Constrictive Pericarditis Undergoing
Xue Lin, Rui-Yi Xu, Jian-Zhou Liu
1Department of Cardiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China.
Insights
Constrictive pericarditis surgery improves survival compared to medical management. Patients with impaired right systolic function benefit most from surgical intervention for better outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Cardiac Surgery
- Pericardial Diseases
Background:
- Constrictive pericarditis (CP) poses challenges for surgical and medical management.
- Evaluating the impact of right ventricular function on outcomes is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the influence of right ventricular function in constrictive pericarditis patients undergoing surgery.
- To compare surgical versus medical management outcomes in CP patients.
Main Methods:
- Recruited CP patients and healthy volunteers (2006-2011).
- Assigned CP patients to pericardiectomy or medical management.
- Utilized echocardiography for cardiac function assessment and recorded survival data.
Main Results:
- Surgery in CP patients demonstrated a significantly higher survival rate than medical management (P = 0.003).
- Patients with severely impaired right systolic function showed improved survival with surgery.
- Factors like albumin level, LV end-diastolic dimension, and TR velocity correlated with survival in surgical CP patients.
Conclusions:
- Preoperative right heart function does not influence overall surgical outcomes in CP.
- Surgery offers a significant survival advantage over medical treatment for CP patients with severely impaired right systolic function.
Background:
To determine the influence of right ventricular function in patients with constrictive pericarditis (CP) undergoing surgery and to compare the outcomes of patients who received surgery with those managed medically.
Methods:
Patients with the diagnosis of CP and healthy volunteers were recruited from January 2006 to November 2011. Patients with CP chose to either receive pericardiectomy or medical management. Echocardiographic measurements were performed to evaluate heart function, and survival was recorded.
Results:
A total of 58 patients with CP (36 received pericardiectomy, 22 managed medically), and 43 healthy volunteers were included. CP patients who received surgery had a higher survival rate than those managed medically (P = 0.003), and higher survival was also seen in the subgroup of CP patients with severely impaired right systolic function. Albumin level, left ventricular end-diastolic dimension, and tricuspid regurgitation velocity were associated with survival in CP patients who received surgery.
Conclusions:
Preoperative right heart function does not affect surgical outcomes. Patients with severely impaired preoperative right systolic function obtain a greater survival advantage with surgery than with medical treatment.
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