Published ahead of print on October 11, 2002, doi:10.1164/rccm.200203-184OC
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Volume 166, Number 12, December 2002, 1567-1571
A more recent version of this article appeared on December 15, 2002
Submitted on March 7, 2002
Accepted on October 3, 2002
PREVALENCE AND CLINICAL COURSE OF PLEURAL EFFUSIONS AFTER CORONARY ARTERY AND CARDIAC SURGERY
Richard W Light1*, Jeffrey T Rogers2, J. Phillip Moyers2, Y.C. Gary Lee1, R. Michael Rodriguez1, and Cardiovascular Surgery Associates, PC1
1 Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Medicine, Saint Thomas Hospital, Nashville, TN, USA,
2 Medicine, Saint Thomas Hospital, Nashville, TN, USA
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: rlight98{at}yahoo.com.
The present prospective study was designed to determine the prevalence of pleural effusion at approximately 28 days post CABG and their subsequent course. This consecutive case study included 389 patients; 312 had only CABG surgery, 37 had both valve and CABG surgery and 40 had only valve surgery. Chest radiographs were obtained approximately 28 days post-operatively. Patients were subsequently contacted by telephone 3, 6, and 12 months post-operatively and questioned concerning the presence of fluid in their chest and related symptoms. The prevalence of pleural effusions in the patients undergoing only CABG surgery (63%) or CABG surgery plus valve surgery (62%) was significantly (p = 0.05) higher than that in the patients undergoing valve surgery only (45%). The prevalence of effusions occupying more than 25% of the hemithorax was 9.7%. The primary symptom associated with these larger effusions was dyspnea. Chest pain and fever were uncommon. Over the 12-month follow-up, the effusions tended to resolve. In conclusion, the prevalence of pleural effusions occupying more than 25% of the hemithorax is approximately 10% 28 days postoperatively. These larger pleural effusions produce dyspnea, but not chest pain or fever and most of the effusions disappear gradually over the subsequent months.
Key words: Pleural effusion, CABG surgery, Dressler's syndrome, dyspnea
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