• A A Ziskind, A C Pearce, C C Lemmon, S Burstein, L W Gimple, H C Herrmann, R McKay, P C Block, H Waldman, and I F Palacios.
• Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, University of Maryland, Baltimore 21201-1595.
• J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 1993 Jan 1;21(1):1-5.

ObjectivesThis study describes the technique, clinical characteristics and results of the first 50 patients undergoing percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy as part of a multicenter registry.BackgroundPercutaneous balloon pericardiotomy involves the use of a percutaneous balloon dilating catheter to create a nonsurgical pericardial window.MethodsPatients eligible for percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy had either cardiac tamponade (n = 36) or a moderate to large pericardial effusion (n = 14). In addition to clinical follow-up, serial echocardiograms and chest X-ray films were obtained.ResultsThe procedure was considered successful in 46 patients after a mean follow-up period of 3.6 +/- 3.3 months. Two patients required an early operation, one for bleeding from a pericardial vessel and one for persistent pericardial catheter drainage. Two patients required a late operation for recurrent tamponade. Minor complications of the procedure included fever in 6 of the first 37 patients (studied before the prophylactic use of antibiotic agents), thoracentesis or chest tube placement in 8 and a small spontaneously resolving pneumothorax in 2. Despite the short-term success of this procedure, the long-term prognosis of the 44 patients with malignant pericardial disease remained poor (mean survival time 3.3 +/- 3.1 months).ConclusionsPercutaneous balloon pericardiotomy is successful in helping to manage large pericardial effusions, particularly in patients with a malignant condition. It may become the preferred treatment to avoid a more invasive procedure for patients with pericardial effusion and a limited life expectancy.

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