Nonbacterial Thrombotic Endocarditis with Multiple Systemic Emboli in a Patient with Primary Lung Cancer.

Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis (NBTE) is a rare condition that refers to a spectrum of noninfectious lesions of cardiac valves that is most commonly seen in advanced malignancy. We describe a case report of a 63-year-old male with NBTE and multiple embolizations (encephalic, coronary, splenic, and renal). The patient was admitted to the emergency department for stroke. During hospitalization, the patient complained of left leg pain and a venous echo color Doppler of the lower limbs was performed, showing bilateral distal deep-vein thrombosis. A thoracoabdominal computed tomography scan, which was performed to rule out pulmonary embolism, revealed a primary lung cancer and subcarinal lymphadenopathy. As collateral findings, multiple ischemic lesions in the spleen and in both kidneys were identified. In addition, areas of subendocardial hypodensity compatible with ischemia were also highlighted. An electrocardiogram showed acute myocardial infarction and focused echocardiographic evaluation displayed hypokinesis of the lateral and posterior in the mid- and distal segments and aortic and mitral valve vegetations, confirmed by a transesophageal echocardiography. Empiric antimicrobial therapy was started; all blood culture sets were negative and the patient was apyretic throughout the hospitalization. These findings supported the hypothesis of NBTE with multiple embolizations during a hypercoagulable state associated with advanced lung cancer.

Syncope and Cardiac Tamponade: Multimodality Imaging of Primary Cardiac Lymphoma.

Primary cardiac lymphoma (PCL) is among the rarest heart neoplasms. Its estimated incidence is about 1%-2% among primary cardiac tumor and 0.5% of extranodal lymphoma. It usually causes heart failure, pericardial effusion, tamponade, and arrhythmias. Prognosis is poor; treatment is combined medical and surgical. We described the case of a 62-year-old male with PLC that presented with syncope and cardiac tamponade, submitted to R-CHOP therapy because of failure of surgery. Clinical state is stable 3 months after diagnosis and first chemotherapy cycle.

What Ultrasounds, Sometimes, Cannot See: A Case of Posterior Pericardial Cyst.

Pericardial cysts (PCs) are very rare, often congenital, mediastinal masses. Usually, they are located in the right cardiophrenic angle and only in 8% of cases in the anterior or posterior mediastinum. Computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging are accurate tools for the diagnosis and characterization of mediastinal masses. However, echocardiography is, in many cases, a good screening technique. If asymptomatic, they do not require surgical excision. The authors describe a case of posterior mediastinum PC; in these cases, echocardiography cannot see the mass and three-dimensional imaging techniques are required. The clinical management of this case is discussed.

High- and low-grade glioma differentiation: the role of percentage signal recovery evaluation in MR dynamic susceptibility contrast imaging.

PURPOSE: Evaluation of cerebral blood volume (CBV) with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging can differentiate low-grade from high-grade gliomas. The percentage of signal recovery (PSR) in the venous phase of perfusion curves is inversely proportional to blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability. Since even BBB permeability relates to glioma malignancy grade, we carried out a comparative evaluation between CBV and PSR to characterise cerebral gliomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-nine patients with cerebral gliomas were studied with MR perfusion imaging. In all tumours, both maximum CBV and minimum PSR were calculated. The difference between the CBV and PSR mean values among the low-grade and high-grade gliomas was assessed using statistical methods. We also examined whether there was an additional difference between low-grade and grade III gliomas. Finally, CBV and PSR diagnostic sensitivity and specificity in identifying low-grade gliomas compared to all gliomas and low-grade gliomas compared to all gliomas excluding glioblastomas was assessed. RESULTS: A significant difference between low-grade and high-grade gliomas with both CBV and PSR was demonstrated. Conversely, there was a significant difference between low-grade and grade III gliomas only with PSR, while CBV did not show significant difference. Finally, superior sensitivity and specificity of PSR compared to CBV in identifying low-grade gliomas was demonstrated both compared to all gliomas and all gliomas excluding glioblastomas. CONCLUSION: The PSR evaluation proved better than CBV for determining the grade of brain and is therefore a useful tool to be considered in the MR evaluation of gliomas.