What procedures are used to drain blood in tamponade?

• A. Pericardiocentesis or emergency sternotomy
• B. Paracentesis
• C. Thoracentesis
• D. Ventilation therapy

Answer: (A)

Relieving tamponade requires immediate decompression of the pericardial space to restore the heart’s ability to fill properly. The best approach is to drain the blood from the pericardial sac. This is done with pericardiocentesis, a percutaneous needle or catheter drainage procedure, often guided by ultrasound, to quickly remove the blood. If the bleeding is ongoing or in a trauma or post-surgical setting, emergency sternotomy may be performed to open the chest, evacuate the blood, and control the source of bleeding directly.

Paracentesis drains fluid from the abdominal cavity, thoracentesis drains pleural fluid in the chest, and ventilation therapy supports breathing but does not remove blood from the pericardial space, so they don’t treat tamponade.