Results:

Of 1,645 patients with cancer referred for pericardial effusion, 212 (13%) underwent percutaneous pericardiocentesis. The procedure was successful in 210 (99% of cases), and there were no procedure-related deaths. There were four patients who had procedure-related bleeding, but bleeding did not vary based on platelet count <50,000 /µL vs. ≥50,000 /µL (p = 0.13). Patients with catheter drainage of the effusion for 3-5 days had the lowest rate of recurrence (10%). Median overall survival was 143 days; lung cancer, platelet count <20,000 /µL, and malignant pericardial effusion were independently associated with a poor prognosis. Patients with lung cancer and proven malignant pericardial effusion had significantly worse 1-year survival compared to those with nonmalignant effusion (16.2% vs. 49.0%, log-rank test p value = 0.01). A similar 1-year survival was not observed among patients with breast cancer (40.2% vs. 40.0%, log-rank test p = 0.42).