ABSTRACT
Atrial myxomas are the most common primary cardiac tumours encountered. Their detection may be incidental, owing to embolic events, intracardiac obstructive features or in some cases, non-specific constitutional symptoms. We describe a middle-aged woman attributing constitutional symptoms to menopause, but later determined to be due to an atrial myxoma.
Subject(s)
Heart Neoplasms/diagnosis , Menopause , Myxoma/diagnosis , Echocardiography , Female , Heart Atria/diagnostic imaging , Heart Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Heart Neoplasms/physiopathology , Heart Neoplasms/surgery , Humans , Menopause/physiology , Middle Aged , Myxoma/diagnostic imaging , Myxoma/physiopathology , Myxoma/surgery , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Renal involvement in POEMS (polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M-band, skin changes) syndrome is considered to be an under-diagnosed phenomenon with no clear treatment path. The limited literature suggests steroids to be the drug of choice, although improvements are limited and usually reverse on withdrawal of the drug. CASE PRESENTATION: A 52-year-old Caucasian woman presenting with features consistent with POEMS syndrome developed progressive renal impairment with proteinuria. Renal biopsy revealed a membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. She was treated with relatively low dose oral mycophenolate mofetil and prednisolone which stabilised her nephropathy and neuropathy. CONCLUSION: We describe an alternative therapeutic option in patients with this serious but poorly understood condition.
