Introduction: The pericardium is a double-walled sac (consisting of visceral and fibrous layers) between which lies the pericardial space, enveloping the heart and the roots of blood vessels entering or exiting the heart (1). Although pericardial effusion can arise from various pathological conditions, its etiology is typically presumed based on clinical presentation and comorbidities, and an accurate diagnosis is established through biochemical, microbiological, and cytological analysis of the effusion. However, pericardiocentesis is an invasive procedure indicated when effusion onset is symptomatic or accompanied by tamponade, or when its etiology is unclear (2, 3).

Patients and Methods: The retrospective analysis included 48 patients with echocardiographically confirmed cardiac tamponade of various etiologies in the period from 2016 to 2021. Descriptive statistical data are presented as a percentage. Due to a small sample size and uneven distribution, the examination of intrahospital mortality between patient groups, based on etiology and effusion treatment, was performed using the Fisher’s exact test and statistical significance was indicated as p-value < 0,05. The statistical analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics.

Results: The median age was 66.5 years (IQR 59-72 years), with a minimum value of 21 years and a maximum of 87 years (Table 1). No statistically significant difference in intrahospital mortality was found among patients with different etiologies of cardiac tamponade (p > 0.05). However, patients treated with a combination of cisplatin and pericardiocentesis had a lower mortality rate compared to those treated with pericardiocentesis alone, p < 0.05 (Figure 1).

Conclusion: Malignant diseases are one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and when combined with pericardial effusion and tamponade, the most common ones are lung and breast cancer, melanoma, and lymphoma. The therapy of choice for acutely occurring pericardial effusion is pericardiocentesis, which alleviates symptoms and provides additional diagnostic possibilities. The effectiveness of cisplatin administration in combination with pericardiocentesis is independent of hemodynamic instability parameters and inflammatory markers in patients with recurrent pericardial effusion.