A standard treatment for pericardial effusion without cardiac tamponade after pediatric cardiac surgery has not been established. We evaluated the efficacy of short-term oral prednisolone administration, which is the initial treatment for postoperative pericardial effusion without cardiac tamponade at our institution. Between October 2008 and March 2020, 1429 pediatric cardiac surgeries were performed at our institution. 91 patients required postoperative treatment for pericardial effusion. 81 were treated with short-term oral prednisolone. Pericardial effusion was evaluated using serial echocardiography during diastole. Pericardial drainage was performed for patients with circumferential pericardial effusion with a maximum diameter of ≥ 10 mm or signs of cardiac tamponade. Short-term oral prednisolone treatment was administered to patients with circumferential pericardial effusion with a maximum diameter of < 10 mm or localized pericardial effusion with a maximum diameter of ≥ 5 mm. Patients with localized pericardial effusion with a maximum diameter of < 5 mm were observed. Prednisolone (2 mg/kg/day) was administered orally for 3 days, added as needed. Short-term oral prednisolone treatment was effective in 71 cases and 90% of patients were regarded as responders. The remaining patients were deemed non-responders who required pericardial drainage. Overall, 55 responders were deemed early responders whose pericardial effusion disappeared within 3 days. There were no cases of deaths, infections, or recurrence of pericardial effusion. The amount of drainage fluid on the day of surgery was higher in the non-responders. In conclusion, short-term oral prednisolone treatment is effective and safe for treating pericardial effusion without cardiac tamponade after pediatric cardiac surgery.

中文翻译：

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短期口服泼尼松龙治疗小儿心脏手术后心包积液的疗效。

尚未建立小儿心脏手术后不伴心包填塞的心包积液的标准治疗方法。我们评估了短期口服泼尼松龙的疗效，这是我们机构无心包填塞术后心包积液的初始治疗方法。2008年10月至2020年3月期间，我们机构进行了1429例小儿心脏手术。91例患者因心包积液需要术后治疗。81 人接​​受短期口服泼尼松龙治疗。在舒张期使用系列超声心动图评估心包积液。对周向心包积液最大直径≥10mm或有心包填塞征象的患者行心包引流。对最大直径<10mm的环周心包积液或最大直径≥5mm的局限性心包积液的患者给予短期口服泼尼松龙治疗。观察最大直径<5mm的局部心包积液的患者。口服泼尼松龙（2 mg/kg/天）3天，按需添加。短期口服泼尼松龙治疗71例有效，90%的患者被视为有效者。其余患者被视为无反应者，需要心包引流。总体而言，55 名反应者被视为早期反应者，其心包积液在 3 天内消失。无死亡、感染、心包积液复发病例。无反应者手术当天的引流液量较高。总之，短期口服泼尼松龙治疗小儿心脏手术后无心包填塞的心包积液是有效且安全的。