Factors associated with pericardial effusion in acute Q wave myocardial infarction.

To elucidate the clinical characteristics associated with pericardial effusion in the early phase of myocardial infarction, 330 patients with acute Q wave infarction were studied. According to echocardiography, 83 patients had pericardial effusion on the third day of hospitalization, and careful auscultation revealed that a pericardial rub was absent in 45 patients and was present in 38 patients. Based on seven clinical variables, multivariate analysis was performed to determine the important variables related to the occurrence of pericardial effusion with and without pericardial rub.