BACKGROUNDTo determine the influence of right ventricular function in patients with constrictive pericarditis (CP) undergoing surgery and to compare the outcomes of patients who received surgery with those managed medically.

METHODSPatients with the diagnosis of CP and healthy volunteers were recruited from January 2006 to November 2011. Patients with CP chose to either receive pericardiectomy or medical management. Echocardiographic measurements were performed to evaluate heart function, and survival was recorded.

RESULTSA total of 58 patients with CP (36 received pericardiectomy, 22 managed medically), and 43 healthy volunteers were included. CP patients who received surgery had a higher survival rate than those managed medically (P = 0.003), and higher survival was also seen in the subgroup of CP patients with severely impaired right systolic function. Albumin level, left ventricular end-diastolic dimension, and tricuspid regurgitation velocity were associated with survival in CP patients who received surgery.

CONCLUSIONSPreoperative right heart function does not affect surgical outcomes. Patients with severely impaired preoperative right systolic function obtain a greater survival advantage with surgery than with medical treatment.