ACCURACY OF TRANSTHORACIC ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY IN DIAGNOSIS OF CARDIAC MYXOMA: SINGLE CENTRE EXPERIENCE

The differential diagnosis of cardiac myxomas (CM), the most common benign primary cardiac tumors, is broad and a thorough diagnostic workup is required to establish accurate diagnosis prior to surgical resection. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is usually the first imaging modality used for diagnosis of suspected CM. Purpose In a single tertiary centre study, we sought to determine the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of TTE in the diagnosis of CM and to determine echocardiographic characteristics indicative of CM. Methods and results We retrospectively analyzed clinical, echocardiographic, and pathohistological findings of 73 patients consecutively admitted for suspected CM. After diagnostic workup, 53 (73%) patients were treated surgically at our institution. Based on preoperative TTE, patients were divided into a CM group (n=45, 85%) and non-myxoma (NM) group. Of the 53 pathohistological specimens obtained during surgery, 39 (73%) were CM. The sensitivity and specificity of preoperative echocardiography were 97% and 50%, respectively. The overall accuracy was 85%. All NM tumors were found in an atypical location and 72% of CM were found in a typical position in the left atrium (p<0.001). Tumors in NM group were significantly smaller than CM (24.3±13.2 mm vs 37.9±18.3 mm, p=0.017). Conclusion Our study confirms very good accuracy of TTE in the diagnosis of CM. The most important echocardiographic characteristics to differentiate between CM and tumors of different etiology are tumor location and size. Smaller tumors presenting at an atypical location are less likely to be diagnosed as CM, and these require additional imaging modalities for accurate diagnosis.

Diagnosis of Carney complex following multiple recurrent cardiac myxomas

Carney complex is a rare syndrome caused by a genetic mutation leading to multiple endocrine abnormalities and a variety of tumors. Here, we report a case of Carney complex diagnosed due to recurrent multiple myxomas in the right atrium of a patient 16 years after the resection of the primary left atrial myxoma. Surgical excision was performed for the multiple recurrent right atrial tumors under cardiopulmonary bypass. The patient remained complication-free after surgery and was discharged on the 14th day. He was scheduled to continue echocardiographic follow-up and periodic systemic review by an endocrinologist. This case emphasizes the fact that if cardiac myxomas tend to be multiple and recurrent at a relatively young age, the possibility of Carney complex should be considered, even in the absence of any other related feature other than cardiac tumors.

Rare Case of 6 cm Right Atrial Myxoma in Patient with Synchronous Endometrial Adenocarcinoma

Primary cardiac tumors are extremely rare. Cardiac myxomas most frequently appear in the left atrium. In this article, we present a case of an asymptomatic 6 cm right atrial mass in a patient undergoing staging for endometrial cancer. The mass was resected, and final pathology was consistent with cardiac myxoma.

Cardiac myxoma as a potential trigger of takotsubo cardiomyopathy: A brief review on mechanistic and clinical perspectives

In clinical practice, cardiac myxomas constitute the majority of benign cardiac neoplasms, and might potentially present with a variety of embolic, obstructive as well as constitutional symptoms. On the other hand, these neoplasms might be potentially associated with the evolution of takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) that is universally considered as a transient form of acute myocardial dysfunction. Accordingly, the present paper primarily aims to focus on potential mechanisms and associated clinical implications of TTC evolution in the setting of cardiac myxomas.

Cardiac myxomas: clinical presentation, diagnosis and management

Cardiac myxomas (CM) are the most common type of primary cardiac tumours in adults, which have an approximate incidence of up to 0.2% in some autopsy series. The purpose of this review is to summarise the literature on CM, including clinical presentation, differential diagnosis, work-up including imaging modalities and histopathology, management, and prognosis. CM are benign neoplasms developed from multipotent mesenchyme and usually present as an undifferentiated atrial mass. They are typically pedunculated and attached at the fossa ovalis, on the left side of the atrial septum. Potentially life-threatening, the presence of CM calls for prompt diagnosis and surgical resection. Infrequently asymptomatic, patients with CM exhibit various manifestations, ranging from influenza-like symptoms, heart failure and stroke, to sudden death. Although non-specific, a classic triad for CM involves constitutional, embolic, and obstructive or cardiac symptoms. CM may be purposefully characterised or incidentally diagnosed on an echocardiogram, CT scan or cardiac MRI, all of which can help to differentiate CM from other differentials. Echocardiogram is the first-line imaging technique; however, it is fallible, potentially resulting in uncommonly situated CM being overlooked. The diagnosis of CM can often be established based on clinical, imaging and histopathology features. Definitive diagnosis requires macroscopic and histopathological assessment, including positivity for endothelial cell markers such as CD31 and CD34. Their prognosis is excellent when treated with prompt surgical resection, with postsurgical survival rates analogous to overall survival in the age-matched general population.

Case Report: Giant Biatrial Myxoma Mimicking Malignant Cardiac Tumor in a Patient With a Hepatic Angiomatous Mass

Cardiac myxomas, primarily originating from the left atrium, are the most prevalent types of benign cardiac tumors; however, biatrial myxomas are extremely rare. Herein, we present a rare case of a 55-year old male with exertional dyspnea and intermittent chest discomfort due to a giant biatrial mass with concomitant atrial fibrillation and hepatic hemangioma. The giant tumor with its peduncle at the interatrial septum involved both atria; however, bulging through the tricuspid valve to the right ventricle during systole. Hence, excision of the giant cardiac tumor (which grossly composed of three parts: stiff, fleshy, and soft) and Cox-Maze IV procedure was performed with the resected specimen measuring 100 × 80 × 40 mm. The patient who was in a stable condition was discharged home on the 12th post-operative day. Thus, given the excellent post-operative results achieved, surgical treatment in large multi-cavitary benign cardiac tumors is feasible and should be considered a potentially curative therapy.

Successful Treatment of Recurrent Hyperpyrexia, Stroke, Intracardiac Thrombosis and Inflammatory Pseudotumor Secondary to Behçet’s Syndrome With Drug Therapy Alone

BackgroundBehçet’s syndrome (BS) is an inflammatory vessel disease characterized by recurrent oral and genital ulcers. It is a rare disorder that affects blood vessels throughout the body. It can affect any bodily system, including the skin, joints and cardiovascular, respiratory, central nervous and degestive systems. But cerebral infarction related to cerebral artery, intracardiac thrombosis (ICT) and inflammatory pseudotumor (IPT) are complications hard to see. And there is no effective therapy in clinic.Case presentationWe report the case of a 17-year-old patient with a two-month history of recurrent hyperpyrexia without obvious infection symptoms. He had a medical history of cerebral infarction ten months ago. Antinuclear antibody (ANA), antiphospholipid antibodies, parasite antibodies and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) were all negative, consequently. Echocardiography demonstrates heterogeneous echoes in the right ventricle and apex. He was suspected to have cardiac myxomas and infective endocarditis and underwent thoracotomy afterwards. Histological examinations showed the specimen is inflammatory mass of vascular origin and intracardiac thrombus (ICT). However, the hyperpyrexia and intracardiac masses relapsed in two months. The antibiotic treatment failed to control the temperature and he was diagnosed as BS and treated with prednisone, aspirin and oral cyclophosphamide. Since then, the body temperature turned to normal and the size of intracardiac mass maintained stable. ConclusionBS should be considered as a causative factor in young man with stroke, intracardiac masses and hyperpyrexia. Glucocorticoid and immunosuppressive agents may be effective for IPT and ICT in patient with BS.

Distinguishing cardiac myxomas from cardiac thrombi by a radiomics signature based on cardiovascular contrast-enhanced computed tomography images

Background Cardiac myxomas (CMs) and thrombi are associated with high morbidity and mortality. These two conditions need totally different treatments. However, they are difficult to distinguish using naked eye. In clinical, misdiagnoses occur now and then. This study aimed to compare the characteristics of CMs and cardiac thrombi and investigate the value of a radiomics signature in distinguishing CMs from cardiac thrombi, based on cardiovascular contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) images. Methods A total of 109 patients who had CMs (n = 59) and cardiac thrombi (n = 50) were enrolled in this retrospective study from 2009 to 2019. First, the lesion characteristics of cardiovascular CECT images were documented and compared by two radiologists. Then all patients were randomly allotted to either a primary group or a validation group according to a 7:3 ratio. Univariate analysis and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator were used to select robust features. The best radiomics signature was constructed and validated using multivariate logistic regression. An independent clinical model was created for comparison. Results The best radiomics signature was developed using eight selected radiomics. The classification accuracies of the radiomics signature were 90.8% and 90.9%, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves were 0.969 and 0.926 in the training and testing cohorts, respectively. Cardiovascular CECT images showed that the two diseases had significant differences in location, surface, Hydrothorax, pericardial effusion and heart enlargement. The naked eye findings were used to create the clinical model. All metrics of the radiomics signature were higher than those of clinical model. Conclusions Compared with clinical model, the radiomics signature based on cardiovascular CECT performed better in differentiating CMs and thrombi, suggesting that it could help improving the diagnostic efficiency.