Evaluating Pericardiectomy Outcomes and Determinants; an 8-Year Retrospective Study at Tertiary Teaching Hospitals in Ethiopia

<i>Background</i>: Constrictive pericarditis has a variety of etiologies which leads to severe symptoms and heart failure which affects the quality of life. So far the main modality of treatment is pericardiectomy. <i>Objective</i>: The aim of this research was to know pericardiectomy outcomes and determinants among constrictive pericarditis patients who were operated at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital from 2014 - 2022. <i>Methods</i>: A retrospective study was done among 65 patients. Data was presented using frequencies with percentages, mean (±standard deviation) and/ or median (interquartile range) as required. Perioperative mortality and complications were summarized using incidence density with 95% confidence interval (CI). <i>Result</i>: Most patients were in their 20s (53.8%) and where male are (84.6%). The commonest presenting symptom was shortness of breath (100%), fatiguability (96.9%), and coughs (66.2%). The median time of presentation was 12.3 months (IQR, 7.0-25.5). There were also cases with clinical symptoms of tuberculosis (13.8%). The etiology of constrictive pericarditis was infectious in 83.1% of cases. The mean length of surgery was 3.3 ± 0.6 hours. The median duration of hospital stay is 9.0 days (IQR, 7.0-12.0). The incidence rate (IR) of perioperative death was 7.9 per 1000 person-days (PD) of observation (94% CI = 3.3 – 19.2) and the incidence rate of complication was 4.8 per 1000 PD (95% CI = 1.5 -14.9). <i>Conclusion</i>: Pericardiectomy is the best treatment for patients with constrictive pericarditis. The majority of patients had a good outcome, with an improvement in symptoms and functional status. The mortality rate was low, and the complication rate was acceptable. However, this study is based on relatively small sample size, and it is a retrospective study from a single center. Hence, further prospective studies are needed to confirm the findings of this study.