Pericardial tamponade may occur following cardiac surgery. Bommer et al identified criteria that can help identify a patient with tamponade. The authors are from the University of California Davis.
Criteria - presence of both of the following:
(1) unexplained clinical or hemodynamic deterioration
(2) >= 10 mm of pericardial separation (combination of lucent and dense material) on echocardiography
Clinical or hemodynamic deterioration may include:
(1) hypotension
(2) low cardiac output
(3) low renal output
(4) cardiopulmonary arrest
(5) elevated central venous pressure
(6) shortness of breath
Performance:
• The sensitivity of these criteria was 100%.
• Regular echocardiographic criteria for pericardial tamponade may not perform as well in post-operative tamponade.
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