Intraoperative Assessment of Hepatic Vein Tracings in Constrictive Pericarditis During Surgical Pericardiectomy

CONSTRICTIVE PERICARDITIS is characterized by progressive inflammation and fibrosis of the pericardium. It manifests with symptoms of heart failure. The only effective treatment is surgical pericardiectomy. The assessment and diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis with echocardiography is well described with spontaneous ventilation. However, there are limited data on constrictive pericarditis assessment with transesophageal echocardiography with positive pressure ventilation. Also, intraoperative hepatic venous Doppler flow mostly is used intraoperatively to assess the severity of tricuspid regurgitation by focusing on the flow reversal during systole. In this e-challenge, the authors focus on the hepatic vein Doppler tracing as a means to show improvement in diastolic function during positive pressure ventilation in a patient undergoing pericardiectomy. This case demonstrates a severely blunted diastolic flow pattern in the hepatic vein that is reversed after successful pericardiectomy. Also, it shows blunted flow during systole compared to diastole post-pericardiectomy, indicating high right atrial pressure.