Prognostic Value of Pericardial Effusion Size in Patients with Acute Heart Failure

BACKGROUND: Pericardial Effusion (PEf) can occur with Acute Heart Failure (AHF). OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of PEf size on the prognosis of patients with AHF. METHODS: According to the maximum size of PEf, all patients were divided into five groups. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. The independent effect of PEf size was determined by binary logistic regression analysis. The curve in line with the overall trend was drawn by local weighted regression (Lowess). RESULTS: We included 192 patients with AHF complicated by PEf. As PEf size increased, in-hospital mortality increased significantly (Group 5 vs. Group 1: 34.8 vs. 8.9% p=0.042). After adjusting for confounders, there was no significant association between PEf groups and in-hospital mortality (Group 5 vs. Group 1: odd ratio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.72, 0.41-18.22, p=0.298). However, when PEf size was analysed as a continuous variable, an independent association between increased risk of in-hospital mortality and PEf size was observed (OR, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.00-1.16, p=0.037). The Lowess curve showed a positive relationship between PEf size and in-hospital mortality. Furthermore, as PEf groups increased, the length of hospital stay (Group 5 vs. Group 1 median and interquartile range: 16, 14-21 vs. 13, 8-17 days, p<0.001) was significantly prolonged. An association between PEf size with acute kidney injury (AKI) was not observed. CONCLUSION: The PEf size was independently associated with the increased risk of in-hospital mortality in patients with AHF.