Cardiac tamponade caused by primary lung cancer and the management of pericardial effusion

Abstract

Background and methods: Between 1978 and 1990, 51 cases of pericardial effusion secondary to lung cancer were treated at the National Cancer Center Hospital by creating a pericardial window, using the subxiphoid approach, that was connected to a water-sealed drainage system.

Results: Most patients had advanced disease, such as distant metastasis (76%), pleural effusion (88%), and clinical Stage N2 or N3 disease (98%). Forty-five patients had cardiac tamponade, and six had no symptoms attributable to pericardial effusion. Cardiac tamponade was the initial manifestation of lung cancer in only 3 patients; it was a late manifestation in 48. Of those specimens that were examined cytologically, 92% had positive findings. The interval from creation of the pericardial window until removal of the drainage tube ranged from 4-135 days (median, 11 days). The interval was significantly longer in patients who previously had received thoracic radiation therapy (P < 0.05). The overall median survival was 80 days, and the 1-year survival rate was 10.5%. Postmortem examination showed that constrictive heart failure caused by pericardial lesions was the major contributory cause of death in 32% of patients. Using multivariate analysis, factors indicating a poor prognosis were: (1) the interval from the diagnosis of lung cancer to pericardial effusion development (P = 0.005) and (2) the absence of prior surgery (P = 0.007).

Conclusions: The creation of a pericardial window effectively treated pericardial effusion in 85% of cases. However, the role of intrapericardial instillation of anticancer or sclerosing agents was unclear in this retrospective analysis.