Comparison of serous and bloody pericardial effusion as an ominous prognostic sign

The present study shows that other than in patients with cardiac trauma (i. e., catheter-based cardiac intervention or cardiac surgery), the classifica tion of pericardial effusions into hemorrhagic or nonhemorrhagic (serious) groups had little diagnostic value with regard to etiology. Although serous effusions are more frequently idiopathic than hemorrhagic effusions, each group has a wide range of etiologies, and both groups are equally as likely to be associated with a malignancy.