The impact of pericardial effusion on long-term prognosis among patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: A retrospective cohort study

Pericardial effusion (PE) is a common occurrence among patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, the prognostic implications of PE in this population have not been extensively investigated. This study aimed to further examine the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and prognostic significance of PE, as well as its associated risk factors. Patients who underwent PCI were included and categorized into two groups based on the presence or absence of PE. Baseline clinical characteristics were compared between the two groups. Risk factors associated with PE and the temporal evolution of PE during follow-up were analyzed. Patients with PE were further stratified into those with poor prognostic outcomes and a control group, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with adverse prognosis in patients with PE. A total of 1,827 patients were included in the final analysis, of whom 245 (13.4%) were diagnosed with PE either during the PCI procedure (n=139) or postoperatively during hospitalization (n=106). Independent factors associated with PE included older age, current smoking, pre-PCI C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, emergent PCI, chronic total occlusion (CTO), PCI with rotational atherectomy (RA), procedural duration, fluoroscopy time, and contrast volume. The proportion of patients with PE and the volume of PE decreased over time during follow-up. Over a follow-up period of 4 to 10 years, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) occurred in 97 (39.6%) patients with PE and 463 (29.3%) patients without PE ( P <0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified current smoking, emergent PCI, CTO, diabetes, and ejection fraction (EF) as significant predictors of poor prognosis in patients with PE following PCI. PE is a frequent complication among patients undergoing PCI and is associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes. Several factors, including current smoking, emergent PCI, CTO, diabetes, and EF, are predictive of poor prognosis in patients with PE.