RESUMEN
Left atrial space occupying lesions pose diagnostic challenge on echocardiography. We report a 79-year-old man with history of pheochromocytoma with left adrenal mass presented with heart failure symptoms after adrenalectomy. Echocardiogram revealed a large echo lucent structure (6.9 x5.9cm) compressing the posterior wall of the left atrium. Further investigation with computer tomography and barium swallow confirmed the diagnosis of hiatal hernia. In this report we explain the differential diagnosis and simple steps to assist the diagnosis of left atrial space occupying lesions noninvasively.
RESUMEN
Background: Several randomized controlled trials (RCT) have reported no difference in long-term mortality between coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The purpose of this pooled observational analysis was to compare recent retrospective studies examining long-term survival of patients with multivessel coronary artery disease undergoing CABG and PCI. Methodology: We searched Medline for observational studies comparing long-term (>1 year) survival between CABG and PCI for the treatment of multi-vessel coronary artery disease over the past 10 years. Results: Eight studies met inclusion criteria. A total of 306,868 patients (155,502 CABG; 151,366 PCI) were identified. Follow-up ranged from 1 to 8 years. Mantel-Haenszel combined hazard ratios (HR) for mortality demonstrated a protective benefit of CABG compared with PCI (HR=0.77, 95%CI=0.75-0.79). Conclusion: These findings suggest a long-term survival advantage for CABG compared with PCI in patients with multi-vessel coronary artery disease.