A cluster of grapes: Right atrial masses of uncertain origin

2021 ◽  
pp. 112972982110468
Author(s):  
John S Dayco ◽  
Niketh DeSouza ◽  
Shaun Cardozo

Implanted ports have provided clinicians with long term venous accessibility, while maintaining comfort and convenience for their patients. One of the most commonly used implanted ports for oncological access is a Mediport (Norfork Medical, Skokie, IL). Guidelines (INS2021) strongly recommend placing central catheter tips at the cavo-atrial junction. In fact, too deep atrium position may be associated with micro-traumatism, possibly leading to a catheter associated right atrial thrombosis (CRAT). No significant literature discusses the possibility of such port masses being seeded by a bacteria, as in the case for endocarditis, which was seen in our patient. In the following case report, we will explore the case of a 41-year-old female with metastatic urothelial carcinoma who developed multiple right atrial masses possibly associated with a deeply seated totally implanted vascular access device (TIVAD) tip within the right atrial wall. These right atrial masses were of unknown origin, and in the setting of MRSA bacteremia, multiple possible etiologies would be discussed. We will also explore ways in which similar complications can be easily prevented in the future.

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (5) ◽  
pp. 512-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sasa Hinic ◽  
Jelena Saric ◽  
Predrag Milojevic ◽  
Jelena Gavrilovic ◽  
Tijana Durmic ◽  
...  

Introduction. Myxoma is the most common primary benign heart tumor. The most frequent location is the left atrium, the chamber of the heart that receives oxygen- rich blood from the lungs. Myxomas usually develop in women, typically between the ages of 40 and 60. Symptoms may occur at any time, but most often they are asymptomatic or oligosymptomatic for a long period of time. Symptoms usually go along with body position, and are related to compression of the heart cavities, embolization and the appearance of general symptoms. The diagnosis of benign tumors of the heart is based on anamnesis, clinical features and findings of the tumor masses by use of non-invasive and invasive imaging methods. Extensive surgical resection of the myxoma is curative with minimal mortality. Long term clinical and echocardiographic follow-up is mandatory. Case report. We reported a case of a 62-year-old male, presented with 15 days of intermittent shortness of breath, dizziness and feeling of heart palpitations and subsequently diagnosed with right atrial myxoma based on transthoracic echocardiography . The patient was emergently operated in our hospital. Long-term followup did not reveal recurrence. Conclusion. Our case was an atypical localisation of right atrial myxoma. Whether the intracardiac mass is benign or malignant, early surgery is obligatory in order to prevent complications.


2005 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osman Tansel Dar�in ◽  
Alper Sami Kunt ◽  
Mehmet Halit Andac

Background: Although various synthetic materials and pericardium have been used for atrial septal defect (ASD) closure, investigators are continuing to search for an ideal material for this procedure. We report and evaluate a case in which autologous right atrial wall tissue was used for ASD closure. Case: In this case, we closed a secundum ASD of a 22-year-old woman who also had right atrial enlargement due to the defect. After establishing standard bicaval cannulation and total cardiopulmonary bypass, we opened the right atrium with an oblique incision in a superior position to a standard incision. After examining the secundum ASD, we created a flap on the inferior rim of the atrial wall. A stay suture was stitched between the tip of the flap and the superior rim of the defect, and suturing was continued in a clockwise direction thereafter. Considering the size and shape of the defect, we incised the inferior attachment of the flap, and suturing was completed. Remnants of the flap on the inferior rim were resected, and the right atrium was closed in a similar fashion. Results: During an echocardiographic examination, neither a residual shunt nor perigraft thrombosis was seen on the interatrial septum. The patient was discharged with complete recovery. Conclusion: Autologous right atrial patch is an ideal material for ASD closure, especially in patients having a large right atrium. A complete coaptation was achieved because of the muscular nature of the right atrial tissue and its thickness, which is a closer match to the atrial septum than other materials.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajiv Ark

Abstract Case report - Introduction In 2011 a gentleman in his 50s presented with nasal blockage and bloody discharge. He was diagnosed with sarcoidosis and after 9 years of failed strategies to control his disease, he developed dactylitis. X-ray of the hands showed severe arthropathy in the distal interphalangeal joints. This case demonstrates an uncommon extrapulmonary manifestation of sarcoidosis. Although most of his follow up was with a respiratory clinic, his main symptoms were not due to interstitial lung disease, highlighting the importance of a multidisciplinary approach. To reduce the need for steroids, several DMARDs were tried illustrating that there are limited treatment options. Case report - Case description This gentleman presented in June 2011 with left epiphora, bloody nasal discharge and fatigue. He had no family history of sarcoidosis and was of Caucasian ethnicity. He was referred by his GP to Ophthalmology and ENT. Septoplasty showed a 95% blockage at the lacrimal sac. A biopsy was performed, and histology showed a nasal sarcoid granuloma. He was referred to the respiratory team who requested a high-resolution CT scan showing sizeable lymph nodes. One inguinal node was biopsied confirming sarcoid granulomas before starting treatment. Calcium was briefly raised, and serum ACE was initially 123. He was started on 40mg of prednisolone for 6 weeks, which was tapered to 20/25mg on alternating days. There was a recurrence of his nasal discharge; steroids were increased again but he developed symptoms of muscle weakness from long term steroid use. He was referred to an interstitial lung disease clinic at a tertiary centre where he was investigated for cardiac sarcoidosis with MRI due to ventricular ectopics. Hydroxychloroquine was started to reduce the steroid use however he developed symptoms of tinnitus, so it was stopped. Methotrexate, Azathioprine and Leflunomide were all trialled to however they did not have any impact on controlling his disease. His Prednisolone was slowly reduced by 1mg a month. When he had recurrence of his symptoms, he was given IV methylprednisolone. Nine years after his first presentation he presented with stiffness of the right thumb base. This progressed to dactylitis and slight fixed flexion deformity of right index finger and left little finger. An x-ray of his hands showed disease in the distal interphalangeal joints bilaterally with severe changes in the left little finger. The effects of long-term steroids led him to request a letter to support early retirement. Case report - Discussion The main rationale for changing treatment options was to reduce the prednisolone dose. Steroids were the only treatment option that showed evidence of controlling his disease when the dose was between 25mg and 40mg a day. Each of the DMARDs that were trialled had a different side effect profile and did not show any evidence of suppressing disease as symptoms recurred. Dose changes later in treatment fluctuated, reflecting a balancing act between disease recurrence and side effects of long-term steroids. There are many extra pulmonary manifestations of sarcoidosis that were investigated in this case. The first being the nasal granuloma, which can occur in sarcoid patients with symptoms of epistaxis, crusting, congestion, and pain. There were granulomatous changes seen in the hila as well as other lymph nodes such as the inguinal region; inguinal lymphadenopathy can lead to pain in the groin area. In addition to this it was important to exclude uveitis with ophthalmology review as he had symptoms of epiphora. Uveitis can be diagnosed in ophthalmological assessment of sarcoid patients in the absence of ocular complaints. Cardiac sarcoidosis was excluded with an MRI at a specialist heart and lung centre due to ventricular ectopics. Cardiac sarcoidosis can lead to heart block, arrhythmias, and congestive cardiac failure. Finally, he developed sarcoid arthropathy, review of his radiological images over time showed extensive damage to the joints of the hand. This gentleman had poor outcomes due to limited treatment options for his disease. Being restricted to long term steroid as the mainstay of treatment led to early retirement due to fatigue and muscle weakness. Conversely, under dosing steroids led to recurrence in symptoms. His disease is still not controlled as shown by an evolving sarcoid arthropathy. Case report - Key learning points An illustration of sarcoid arthropathy is also shown in this case. Sarcoid arthropathy is an uncommon manifestation of the disease primarily affecting joints in the hands and feet. In this case the distal interphalangeal joints and proximal interphalangeal joints were affected. The first symptom of arthropathy was stiffness of the base of the right thumb in 2017, this could fit with an osteoarthritic picture and could be mistaken for it in undiagnosed sarcoidosis. The most severe disease was in the DIP of the left little finger, which is not commonly affected. An oligoarthritic pattern with involvement of the ankle is seen more often. This is also an unusual case of sarcoidosis as there was no family history of the disease and his ethnicity did not predispose him to the condition. He also had a few uncommon extra pulmonary manifestations of sarcoidosis. The importance of a multidisciplinary approach in managing sarcoidosis was demonstrated in this case. Most of his follow up was with a respiratory clinic. However, respiratory symptoms were not the main issue during the patient journey; early ENT and rheumatology input was significant in managing his disease. Although pulmonary lymph nodes were enlarged, they did not affect his lung function.


Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 132 (suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasja de Groot ◽  
Lisette vd Does ◽  
Ameeta Yaksh ◽  
Paul Knops ◽  
Pieter Woestijne ◽  
...  

Introduction: Transition of paroxysmal to longstanding persistent atrial fibrillation (LsPAF) is associated with progressive longitudinal dissociation in conduction and a higher incidence of focal fibrillation waves. The aim of this study was to provide direct evidence that the substrate of LsPAF consists of an electrical double-layer of dissociated waves, and that focal fibrillation waves are caused by endo-epicardial breakthrough. Hypothesis: LsPAF in humans is caused by electrical dissociation of the endo- and epicardial layer. Methods: Intra-operative mapping of the endo- and epicardial right atrial wall was performed in 9 patients with induced (N=4), paroxysmal (N=1), persistent (N=2) or longstanding-persistent AF (N=2). A clamp of two rectangular electrode-arrays (128 electrodes; inter-electrode distance 2mm) was introduced through an incision in the right atrial appendage. Series of 10 seconds of AF were analyzed and the incidence of endo-epicardial dissociation (≥15ms) was determined for all 128 endo-epicardial recording sites. Results: In patients with LsPAF the averaged degree of endo-epicardial dissociation was highest (24.9% vs. 5.9%). Using strict criteria for breakthrough (presence of an opposite wave within 4mm and <15ms before the origin of the focal wave), the far majority (77%) of all focal fibrillation waves could be attributed to endo-epicardial excitation. Conclusions: During LsPAF considerable differences in activation of the right endo- and epicardial wall exist. Endo-epicardial fibrillation waves that are out of phase, may conduct transmurally and create breakthrough waves in the opposite layer. This may explain the high persistence of AF and the low succes rate of ablative therapies in patients with LsPAF.


2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
C. G. HATZIGIANNAKIS (Χ.Γ. ΧΑΤΖΗΓΙΑΝΝΑΚΗΣ) ◽  
M. E. MYLONAKIS (Μ. Ε. ΜΥΛΩΝΑΚΗΣ) ◽  
M. N. SARIDOMICHELAKIS (Μ.Ν. ΣΑΡΙΔΟΜΙΧΕΛΑΚΗΣ) ◽  
M. PATSIKAS (Μ. ΠΑΤΣΙΚΑΣ) ◽  
D. PSALLA (Δ. ΨΑΛΛΑ) ◽  
...  

A 7-year old female collie (case 1), a 3-year old male Caucasian-cross (case 2) and three male German shepherds with an age of 11 (case 3), 8.5 (case 4) and 10 (case 5) years, respectively, were admitted with a history of decreased appetite, depression, exercise intolerance, dyspnea and progressive abdominal enlargement, for the last 10 to 60 days. Poor body condition (5/5), muffled heart sounds (5/5), weak femoral pulse (5/5), ascites (5/5), inspiratory or inspiratory-expiratory dyspnea (5/5), pulsus paradoxus (2/5) and jugular vein distension (2/5) were the prominent clinical findings, while mature neutrophilic leukocytosis (3/5), lymphopenia (3/5), eosinopenia (3/5), hypoproteinemia (5/5) and increased urea nitrogen (3/5) were the most prevalent clinicopathologic abnormalities. Apart from a space-occupying lesion onto the right atrial wall of one dog (case 4), radiographic and ultrasound examination showed a globe-shaped cardiac silhouette (5/5), pericardial effusion (5/5), ascites (5/5) and pleural effusion (4/5). A large amount of non-clotting hemorrhagic effusion was drained during pericardiocentesis, resulting in rapid clinical recovery. Physical, chemical and cytological evaluation of the pericardial fluid was non-contributory in the differentiation between neoplastic and non-neoplastic causes of these effusions. Case 3 died 25 days post-pericardiocentesis; right atrium hemangiosarcoma and pulmonary metastases were documented on post mortem histopathological examination. Another dog (case 5) died of unknown causes one month after pericardiocentensis. On the contrary, dogs 1, 2 and 4 were still clinically healthy for a followup period of 16, 2 and 8 months, respectively.


EP Europace ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Supplement_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Scridon ◽  
VB Halatiu ◽  
AI Balan ◽  
DA Cozac ◽  
GV Moldovan ◽  
...  

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): This work was supported by a grant of the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research, CNCS - UEFISCDI Background The autonomic control of the pacemaker current, If, and the molecular mechanisms underlying parasympathetic If modulation are well understood. Conversely, the effects of chronic If blockade on the parasympathetic nervous system and on the heart rate (HR) response to acute parasympathetic changes are still largely unknown. Such interactions could significantly influence the course of patients undergoing chronic therapy with the If blocker ivabradine. Purpose We aimed to assess the effects of long-term If blockade using ivabradine on cardiac autonomic modulation and on the cardiovascular response to acute in vivo and in vitro parasympathetic stimulation. Methods Radiotelemetry ECG transmitters were implanted in 6 Control and 10 ivabradine-treated male Wistar rats (IVA; 3 weeks, 10 mg/kg/day); sympathetic and parasympathetic heart rate variability parameters were assessed. At the end of the study, the right atrium was removed and right atrial HCN(1-4) RNA expression levels were analyzed. The HR and systolic blood pressure (SBP) responses to in vivo electrical stimulation of the right vagus nerve (2–20 Hz) and the spontaneous sinus node discharge rate (SNDR) response to in vitro cholinergic receptors stimulation using carbamylcholine (10-9–10-6 mol/L) were assessed in 6 additional Control and 10 IVA rats. Results At the end of the study, mean 24-h HR was significantly lower in the IVA compared with the Control rats (301.3 ± 7.5 bpm vs. 341.5 ± 8.3 bpm; p&lt; 0.01). Ivabradine administration led to a significant increase in vagal tone and shifted the sympatho-vagal balance towards vagal dominance (awake, asleep, and over 24-h; all p&lt; 0.05). In the Control rats, in vivo vagus nerve stimulation induced a progressive decrease in both the SBP (p = 0.0001) and the HR (p&lt; 0.0001). Meanwhile, in the IVA rats, vagal stimulation had no effect on the HR (p = 0.16) and induced a significantly lower drop in SBP (p&lt; 0.05). Ivabradine-treated rats also presented a significantly lower SNDR drop in response to carbamylcholine (p&lt; 0.01) and significantly higher HCN4 expression (p = 0.02). Conclusion Long-term If blockade using ivabradine caused a significant increase in vagal tone and shifted the autonomic balance towards vagal dominance in rats. Given the highly proarrhythmic effects of vagal activation at the atrial level, these findings could provide an explanation for the increased risk of atrial fibrillation associated with ivabradine use in clinical trials. In addition, ivabradine reduced the HR response to direct muscarinic receptors stimulation, canceled the cardioinhibitory response and blunted the hemodynamic response to in vivo vagal stimulation, and led to significant sinus node HCN4 up-regulation. These data suggest that ivabradine-induced HCN4 and the consequent If up-regulation could render the sinus node less sensitive to acute vagal inputs and could thus protect against excessive bradycardia induced by acute vagal activation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 523-526
Author(s):  
Virendra Rajpurohit ◽  
Pooja Mehta ◽  
Nirupama Kothari ◽  
Sanjay Nathani

2002 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. 154-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Toledo de Aguiar ◽  
Alex Lederman ◽  
Patrícia Matsunaga

CONTEXT: Total occlusion of the common carotid is rare and the indications and techniques for surgical treatment are still a matter of controversy. OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the feasibility of retrograde common carotid endarterectomy. DESIGN: Retrospective case report study. SETTING: Tertiary care private hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Three patients underwent ring-stripping retrograde common carotid endarterectomy. Their ages were 81, 68 and 65 years. All were hypertensive with generalized atherosclerosis, two had diabetes mellitus, and one had undergone coronary artery bypass some years earlier and had non-dialytic chronic renal insufficiency. Symptoms of brain ischemia were present in two patients. All patients had total occlusion of the common carotid, extending from the origin to the bifurcation and localized in the right common carotid in two cases. In two cases the internal carotid artery was also occluded. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Postoperative early mortality and stroke rate, and the medium and long-term endarterectomy patency. RESULTS: There were no deaths. One patient had a transient ischemic attack. All endarterectomies were patent after eight months, four years and seven years of follow-up. CONCLUSION: There is low mortality, and the procedure can be done through only one cervical incision. Tandem lesions of the carotid arteries can be treated together. It is suitable for long total occlusions of the common carotid, and long-term patency.


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