[Bell's palsy and cardiomyopathy in the postpartum: case report and review of the literature]. / Paralysie faciale et cardiomyopathie dans le postpartum: à propos d'un cas et revue de la littérature.

It is a 29-year-old patient who presented in the postpartum a facial palsy. A few days later she developed progressively a worsening dyspnea accompanied by tachycardia. Examinations have showed severe heart failure. Etiological research demonstrated reactivation of Epstein Barr virus infection with facial neuritis and concomitant myocarditis. The patient has fully recovered and was in complete remission after 6 months. To our knowledge this is the first case where a facial palsy and postpartum cardiomyopathy are associated and may be explained by a common viral etiology.

The diagnostic value of ultrasonography in 342 suspected cases of ectopic pregnancy.

The value of ultrasonography as a diagnostic or screening tool is studied in 342 cases of potential ectopic pregnancy. Ultrasonography was used as a diagnostic technique when the echopattern was clear enough to pose a diagnosis of ectopic or non-ectopic pregnancy, including intra-uterine pregnancy, abortion or other pelvic abnormalities. Diagnosis was possible in 77 per cent of the examined patients, with 95 per cent correct diagnosis, 2 per cent false positives and 3 per cent false negatives. For ultrasonography simply as a screening technique whatever the echopattern might be, i.e. in all cases, 78 per cent were selected correctly, with 20 per cent false positives and 2 per cent false negatives. The high quality of the ultrasonic data, combined with the relative absence of the disadvantages of roentgen-rays and invasive techniques, makes ultrasonography the first examination of choice in cases of clinical suspicion of ectopic pregnancy.