Type of publication:Conference abstract
Author(s):*Wilson A.; *Ellis C.; *Lee E.
Citation:Echo Research and Practice. Conference: British Society of Echocardiography Annual Meeting, BSEcho 2022. London United Kingdom. 10(Supplement 1) (no pagination), 2023. Date of Publication: September 2023.
Abstract:Background: Pericardial effusions (PE) occur when there is an excess of fluid accumulating within the pericardial space. We have observed an increase in the number of PE's detected amongst all transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) scans performed since the start of the COVID- 19 pandemic irrespective of cause for referral. This is interesting given that the most common cause of PE's in the Western World is considered to be post-viral infection. Aim(s): Validate a significant increase in the rate of PE detection via TTE from January 2020-December 2021 compared to the previous 3 years and compare PE detection with national COVID-19 infection data. Method(s): All TTE scans performed between January 2017 and December 2021 were utilised to generate rates of PE detection. A t-test was performed to assess for a significant difference in PE detection pre-COVID-19 (January 2017-December 2019) and during the pandemic (January 2020-December 2021). Data on the incidence of COVID-19 cases in the UK was gathered from the Gov.uk website. Result(s): A total of 37,069 TTE's were performed pre-COVID-19 and 24,125 scans post-COVID-19. Majority of the 2020-2021 TTE's were performed in low risk COVID-19 patients. There were significantly more PE's detected post-COVID-19 compared with pre-COVID-19 with rates of detection of 0.14 and 0.05 respectively (p < 0.001). Detection of PE's increased from 2017-2021 despite a decrease in total scans performed post-COVID-19 (Figure 1). Comparison with national COVID-19 infection data shows a peak in PE incidence following a peak in infections (Figure 2). Conclusion(s): We have noticed a significant increase in PE detection since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This appeared to track the incidence of national COVID-19 infections.