Heart Failure: From Typical Clinical Manifestations to the Surprising Final Diagnosis.

The authors report a case of an 80-year-old woman with multiple cardiovascular risk factors, with exuberant acute congestive heart failure at admission. Fever, anemia, and an increase in inflammatory parameters were present, with imaging suggesting a respiratory infection as the main reason for decompensation. Empirical antibiotic therapy was instituted, with no clinical improvement even after escalation to broad-spectrum antibiotics and non-invasive ventilation with high support pressures, with no possibility of weaning. Due to maintenance of symptoms, a transthoracic echocardiogram was performed, revealing a large left atrial myxoma, obstructing the mitral valve in diastole. This case illustrates the potential severity of these benign tumors and their ability to mimic symptoms that are often evaluated in the daily life of an internist. The high clinical suspicion led to a diagnosis that was surprising due to its rarity and severity, with the patient being urgently referred for cardiac surgery.

Pyogenic liver abscess: uncommon presentation.

Pyogenic liver abscess is a rare entity, but it is fatal when untreated. With a peak incidence in the fifth decade of life, its early recognition and intervention are key to successful treatment and better prognosis of patients. In recent years, its approach has been enhanced by the use of percutaneous drainage, improved imaging techniques and a better microbiological characterisation, allowing for a more appropriate use of antibiotics. Clinical manifestations are variable and depend on the size of the abscess, the condition of the patient, associated diseases and possible complications. Among the most common symptoms that stand out are the pain in the upper quadrants of the abdomen, high fever, nausea and vomiting. The authors present the case of a patient who developed an atrial flutter as the initial presentation of a hepatic abscess that imagiologically mimicked a hepatic tumour.