Should Physicians Stop Prescribing Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs for Postoperative Pericardial Effusion?
Authors: Philippe Meurin
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2010)

Letters15 June 2010Should Physicians Stop Prescribing Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs for Postoperative Pericardial Effusion?Philippe Meurin, MD, Jean Yves Tabet, MD, and Ahmed Ben Driss, MD, PhDPhilippe Meurin, MDFrom Les Grands Prés, Villeneuve Saint Denis, 77174 France.Search for more papers by this author, Jean Yves Tabet, MDFrom Les Grands Prés, Villeneuve Saint Denis, 77174 France.Search for more papers by this author, and Ahmed Ben Driss, MD, PhDFrom Les Grands Prés, Villeneuve Saint Denis, 77174 France.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-152-12-201006150-00021 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:It is very important not to confuse acute pericarditis and the postpericardiotomy syndrome—both of which are clinical syndromes—with postoperative pericardial effusion, which is usually asymptomatic. This confusion is why NSAIDs have been frequently prescribed to treat postoperative pericardial effusion. Indeed, if the European Society of Cardiology (1) recommends ibuprofen, it is to treat acute pericarditis and not postoperative pericardial effusion, and if a long treatment duration is recommended, it is to prevent recurrences and not to help reduce the volume of the effusions (which was the aim of our study) or to prevent the incidence of late tamponades ...References1. Maisch B, Seferović PM, Ristić AD, Erbel R, Rienmüller R, Adler Y, et al; Task Force on the Diagnosis and Management of Pericardial Diseases of the European Society of Cardiology. Guidelines on the diagnosis and management of pericardial diseases executive summary; The Task Force on the Diagnosis and Management of Pericardial Diseases of the European Society of Cardiology. Eur Heart J. 2004;25:587-610. [PMID: 15120056] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Gislason GH, Jacobsen S, Rasmussen JN, Rasmussen S, Buch P, Friberg J, et al. Risk of death or reinfarction associated with the use of selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors and nonselective nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs after acute myocardial infarction. Circulation. 2006;113:2906-13. [PMID: 16785336] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Niva M, Biancari F, Valkama J, Juvonen J, Satta J, Juvonen T. Effects of diclofenac in the prevention of pericardial effusion after coronary artery bypass surgery. A prospective randomized study. J Cardiovasc Surg. 2002;43:449-53. MedlineGoogle Scholar4. Meurin P, Weber H, Renaud N, Larrazet F, Tabet JY, Demolis P, et al. Evolution of the postoperative pericardial effusion after day 15: the problem of the late tamponade. Chest. 2004;125:2182-7. [PMID: 15189940] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Meurin P, Tabet JY, Thabut G, Cristofini P, Farrokhi T, Fischbach M, et al; French Society of Cardiology. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug treatment for postoperative pericardial effusion: a multicenter randomized, double-blind trial. Ann Intern Med. 2010;152:137-43. [PMID: 20124229] LinkGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Philippe Meurin, MD; Jean Yves Tabet, MD; Ahmed Ben Driss, MD, PhDAffiliations: From Les Grands Prés, Villeneuve Saint Denis, 77174 France.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoNonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug Treatment for Postoperative Pericardial Effusion Philippe Meurin , Jean Yves Tabet , Gabriel Thabut , Pascal Cristofini , Titi Farrokhi , Michel Fischbach , Bernard Pierre , Ahmed Ben Driss , Nathalie Renaud , Marie Christine Iliou , and Hélène Weber , for the French Society of Cardiology* Should Physicians Stop Prescribing Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs for Postoperative Pericardial Effusion? Amir Y. Shaikh and Dennis A. Tighe Metrics 15 June 2010Volume 152, Issue 12Page: 827KeywordsConflicts of interestDrugsHabitsIbuprofenNSAIDs ePublished: 15 June 2010 Issue Published: 15 June 2010 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2010 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...