15th May 2025

A 55-year-old patient who has had chest pain for the last 3.5 months presents to the emergency department due to severity of symptoms. An ECHO is done and shows that she has a new pericardial effusion of around 200mls.

A 55-year-old patient who has had chest pain for the last 3.5 months presents to the emergency department due to severity of symptoms. An ECHO is done and shows that she has a new pericardial  effusion of around 200mls. She has a past medical history of heart failure, chest wall irradiation secondary  to malignancy, CKD 3. It was decided that the patient would undergo a diagnostic pericardiocentesis.  What would you expect the results of the pericardial effusion to show?  

Select the SINGLE most appropriate option from the list below. Select ONE option only.