[Echocardiography and mechanical complications of recent myocardial infarction]. / Echocardiographie et complications mécaniques de l'infarctus du myocarde récent.

The constantly advancing technology of echocardiography and its widespread usage in the intensive care unit has made it a routine examination in patients with acute myocardial infarction. It has become the reference method for diagnosis and monitoring of certain complications such as pericardial effusion, intra-ventricular thrombosis, ventricular aneurysm and mitral regurgitation. The echocardiographic description of these complications dates back to the 1980s during which prospective studies accurately described the principal abnormalities. These descriptions have not been much improved upon with the advent of new technology. On the other hand, the frequency of these complications assessed in an era when reperfusion by thrombolysis or primary angioplasty was much less common than today, has considerably decreased.

[Pneumococcal endocarditis in native valves. Three original observations in the adult]. / Endocardites à pneumocoque sur valves natives. Trois observations originales chez l'adulte.

The authors report three observations of acute pneumococcal endocarditis located in the aorta in one case, and mitral in the two other cases, admitted over a period of 4 years. Two of the three patients required surgical correction, with no surgical complications. Follow-up revealed a rare complication of infectious endocarditis linked to rupture of the head of the two anterior mitral pillars associated with an abscess. The severity of pneumococcal endocarditis is emphasised, concurring with the data from the literature. The role of echocardiography in pneumococcal septicaemia is clear; transthoracic examination is justified in every case of septicaemia, and transoesophageal echography complements this examination in case of diagnostic doubt or cardiovascular complication.