Effect of pericardiocentesis on right and left ventricular function and volumes in pericardial effusion

To assess the effects of pericardial effusion on ventricular performance and volumes, electrocardiographically gated blood pool cardiac scintigraphy was performed immediately before and after 14 pericardiocenteses in 10 patients, 7 men and 3 women, aged 28 to 73 years (mean 50). Cardiac tamponade was present in 5 patients. After removal of 140 to 1,100 ml of pericardial fluid (527 +/- 305 ml [mean +/- standard deviation]), left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction increased from 63 +/- 5 to 64 +/- 4% (p greater than 0.05) and right ventricular (RV) ejection fraction decreased from 47 +/- 4 to 46 +/- 2% (p greater than 0.05). LV end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes increased (p less than 0.01) by 28 and 33%, and RV volumes by 40 and 43%, respectively. There were 8 patients with normal LV function (ejection fraction greater than 60%) and 6 patients with subnormal LV function. Changes in ejection fraction were nonsignificant in the 4 subgroups. LV end-diastolic volume changes were more marked (p less than 0.01) in patients with cardiac tamponade (+ 56%) than in those without tamponade (+ 17%), and in those with normal LV function (+ 36%) than in those with subnormal LV function (+ 21%). RV end-diastolic volume increased more markedly (p less than 0.05) in patients with tamponade (+ 72%) than in those without tamponade (+ 23%), but were similar in patients with normal (+ 38%) and abnormal (+ 43%) LV function. After pericardiocentesis, RV volume increased more markedly than did LV volume. Thus, hemodynamic and clinical improvement after pericardiocentesis may be related only to an increase in stroke volume. RV and LV ejection fraction, a measure of myocardial contractility, was not affected significantly by the presence of pericardial effusion, even in those patients who had cardiac tamponade.