Aim: To estimate the frequency of pericardial effusion/cardiac tamponade associated with the use of neonatal percutaneous long lines (PLLs) over the past five years. Method: A retrospective nationwide postal survey, of all neonatal and special care units in the United

Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed2003;88:F292–F295Aim: To estimate the frequency of pericardial effusion/cardiac tamponade associated with the use ofneonatal percutaneous long lines (PLLs) over the past five years.Method: A retrospective nationwide postal survey, of all neonatal and special care units in the UnitedKingdom.Results: Eighty two cases of pericardial effusion/cardiac tamponade were reported from the five yearperiod, during which we estimate that 46 000 PLLs were inserted. The calculated frequency of pericar-dial effusion/cardiac tamponade occurring with PLLs was 1.8/1000 lines. There were 30 deaths, giv-ing a fatality rate after pericardial effusion of 0.7/1000 lines.Conclusions: Pericardial effusion/cardiac tamponade is a serious but infrequent complication of PLLuse.