Riaz-ur Din, Farhan Faisal, Farida Khudaidad, Dost Muhammad, Abdul Ghaffar, Fazal-ur Rehman.
Examine the Frequency and Causes of Pericardial Effusion in patients Presenting with Unexplained Dyspnea.
Med Forum Jan ;31(2):63-6.

Objective: To determine the frequency and causes of pericardial effusion in patients presenting to emergency department with dyspnea. Study Design: Prospective/Observational study Place and Duration of study: This study was conducted at the Department of Cardiology, Bolan Medical Complex Hospital Quetta from April 2019 to September 2019. Materials and Methods: A total 220 patients of both genders with ages above 20 years presented with dyspnea were enrolled in this study. Patient`s detailed medical history was recorded after taking informed consent. All patients had received echocardiography to examine the incidence of pericardial effusion. Causes of pericardial effusion were recorded. Results: There were 38 (17.27%) patients had pericardial effusion, among these 26 (68.42%) were males while rest 31.58% patients were females. 5 (13.16%) patients had ages <40 years while 33 (86.84%) patients had ages >40 years. 20 (52.63%) patients had small size effusion, 15 (39.47%) patients had moderate size and 3 (7.89%) patients had large size effusion. Neoplastic diseases were the commonest cause of pericardial effusion found in 15 (39.47%) patients followed by idiopathic in 10 (26.32%), uremia in 6 (15.79%) patients, 3 (7.89%) patients had bacterial infectious, 3 (7.89%) had HIV positive and 1 (2.63%) patient had other. Conclusion: Incidence of pericardial effusion is high in patients with unexplained dyspnea. Neoplastic was the commonest cause of pericardial effusion.

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