Commonest route for emergency pericardiocentesis – Medicine MCQ

Most commonly used route for emergency pericardiocentesis in cardiac tamponade is:
A) Left parasternal
B) Right parasternal
C) Apical
D) Subxiphoid

Correct answer: D) Subxiphoid

Large pericardial effusion – Water bottle sign

• Subxiphoid route is used for pericardiocentesis in most cases.
• Earlier apical route was also used for pericardiocentesis.
• But the apical route is seldom used nowadays for fear of injury to coronary arteries (Left anterior descending coronary artery is likely to be injured by the apical route of pericardiocentesis).

Read more on cardiac tamponade: https://cardiophile.org/cardiac-tamponade/