• Shi-Min Yuan.
• Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The First Hospital of Putian, Teaching Hospital, Fujian Medical University, Chengxiang District, Fujian Province, China.
• J Coll Physicians Surg Pak. 2020 Jan 1; 30 (1): 62-66.

AbstractThe postpericardiotomy syndrome (PPS) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality following heart operation. This systematic review reviewed the literature regarding PPS. It was found to occur on day 18.3 ±15.9 after cardiac operations, most often after coronary artery bypass grafting, and mitral valve replacement. The most common symptoms were new/worsening pericardial effusions, pleuritic chest pain, and fever. The inflammation markers, such as C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate, were found to increase significantly in each patient who had these parameters examined. The subjects were managed conservatively in 472 (83.5%) patients, by surgical pericardial drainage in 85 (15.0%) patients, by thora-/pericardio-centesis in 3 (0.5%) patients, and were under surveillance without being treated in 5 (0.9%) patients. Conservative treatment was likely to be associated with a higher recovery rate. Surgical trauma and cardiopulmonary bypass trigger the systemic inflammatory response, which results in antiheart autoantigen release, and the deposited immune complex could be found in the pericardial, pleural, and lung tissues, thereby provoking the occurrence of PPS. Therapeutic options for the refractory cases are long-term oral corticoids or pericardiectomy. Surgical intervention was warranted in 2.6% of the cases due to cardiac tamponade.

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