Therapeutic effects of 5-fluorouracil sustained-release particles in 81 malignant pericardial effusion patients

This study aimed to investigate the clinical application value of the 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) sustained-release particles implanted along the cardiac tangent direction into malignant pericardial effusion (MPCE). A total of 81 MPCE patients underwent pericardiocentesis, and were implanted with 5-FU sustained-release particles into the pericardial cavity under ultrasound guidance. The puncturing path was along the cardiac tangent direction. Ultrasound examinations were performed every week, and the efficacy was evaluated 4 weeks after treatment. The 45 patients who were treated with pericardial catheter drainage and simultaneous intracavitary chemotherapy were used as the control group. The success rate of pericardiocentesis was 100%. Ultrasound reviews performed 4 weeks after treatment showed that 71 cases achieved complete remission and eight cases achieved partial remission, while treatment was completely ineffective in two cases. The total remission rate was 97.53%, which was significantly higher than that of the control group (77.78%, p < 0.01). The implantation of 5-FU sustained-release particles along the cardiac tangent direction was safe, and demonstrated good efficacy and fewer adverse reactions. Thus, this method could be ideal for the treatment of MPCE. Copyright (C) 2014, Kaohsiung Medical University. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved.