• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.349-352
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• 2013

We present here a 44-year-old male patient with hydatid disease who was referred to our hospital due to dyspnea and chest pain for the last 2 month before admission. Using echocardiography and contrast-enhanced computed tomography the heart hydatid was diagnosed. However, hydatid disease of the interventricular septum is rare; particularly, the involvement of mitral apparatus with mitral regurgitation (MR) is an exceptionally rare presentation. Early diagnosis and an integrated treatment strategy are crucial. Surgical excision was performed and the patient had an uneventful recovery and follow-up at 3 months.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.17-23
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• 2009

The prevalence of patent foramen ovale (PFO) in healthy persons was estimated as about $10{\sim}25%$ and was up to 40% in patients with stroke. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) was considered to be the most sensitive method to detect PFO and was used as the gold standard. Transcranial doppler sonography (TCD) of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) during a contrast (saline bubble) injection has recently been proposed as an alternative detecting method for PFO. In this study, we would like to know the difference between TCD value and TEE value in subjects with cryptogenic ischemic stroke. We performed TCD and TEE tests to detect PFO on 64 patients (30 women and 34 men, mean age was 59.4 years) with cryptogenic ischemic stroke. PFO prevalence through TCD was 45.3% (29 of 64 patients) and the prevalence through TEE was 34.4% (22 of 64 patients). There was no statistical significance between PFO test and TCD test (P=0.206). But TCD had a sensitivity of 90.9% (20 of 22 patients), specificity of 78.6% (33 of 42 patients), positive predictive value of 69.0% (20 of 29 patients), and negative predictive value of 94.3% (33 of 35 patients). We concluded that TCD was a highly sensitive method for detecting a right-left shunt. Therefore, the non-invasive TCD test is a method more effective than the anti-invasive TEE test in the cost and evaluation of the existence or nonexistence of right to left shunt in addition to the screening method of the cerebrovascular disorder. Considering these points, TCD test could be recommended for patients with cryptogenic ischemic stroke as a useful and convenient method for screening of the existence or nonexistence of a right to left shunt caused by PFO.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.303-306
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• 2014

Three Yorkshire Terriers (12-year-old, 13-year-old, and 15-year-old castrated males) with respiratory distress, coughing and anorexia were the subjects of this report. In laboratory examinations, there were no remarkable findings. However, the thoracic radiographic findings included a large mass of soft tissue density in the cardiac base region, tracheal elevation, and aortic bulging in all three Yorkshire Terriers. There were no remarkable findings in the abdominal radiographs. In echocardiography, a homogeneous hyperechoic mass around the aorta and bicuspid valve regurgitation were found in all three dogs. There were no remarkable findings in abdominal ultrasonography. Computed tomographic findings showed a large well -defined heterogeneous mass in the cranial vena cava, which was dominant in the left side in all three Yorkshire Terriers. The mass sizes were about $3{\times}4cm$. In post-contrast scanning, contrast enhancement was evident. These cases were diagnosed as heart-base tumor. Treatments provided to the three dogs were based on symptomatic medical management of cardiac failure and tracheal collapse. Case 1 (12-year-old) survived for 3 months, case 2 (13-year-old) for 5 months, and case 3 (15-year-old) for 32 months after the diagnosis. Our results show that the clinical findings, thoracic radiography, echocardiography, computed tomography (CT) and symptomatic medical management in dogs suspected to have heart base tumor.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.280-284
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• 2003

Creation of an axillary arteriovenous fistula (AVF) was performed in two patients with high risks of Fontan operation after a cavopulmonary shunt. The patients complained of progressive cyanosis and decrease in exercise tolerance, and they showed pulmonary arteriovenous fistula on the pulmonary angiography. They were uneventfully transferred to the general ward on the first postoperative day and discharged 3 and 4 days after the operation respectively. There was no evidence of fistula-related volume loading and the other post-operative complications. An 8-month follow-up revealed improved symptoms such as, cyanosis and exercise intolerance, but not sufficient regression of pulmonary arteriovenous fistula on a lung perfusion scan and contrast echocardiography, which should be carefully checked hereafter.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.56 no.11
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• pp.500-504
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• 2013

Here we present the case of an 11-year-old female patient diagnosed with Caroli syndrome, who had refractory esophageal varices. The patient had a history of recurrent bleeding from esophageal varices, which was treated with endoscopic variceal ligation thrice over a period of 2 years. However, the bleeding was not controlled. When the patient finally visited the Emergency Department, the hemoglobin level was 4.4 g/dL. Transhepatic intrajugular portosystemic shunt was unsuccessful. Subsequently, the patient underwent percutaneous transhepatic variceal obliteration. Twenty hours after this procedure, the patient complained of aphasia, dizziness, headache, and general weakness. Six hours later, the patient became drowsy and unresponsive to painful stimuli. Lipiodol particles used to embolize the coronary and posterior gastric veins might have passed into the systemic arterial circulation, and they were found to be lodged in the brain, kidney, lung, and stomach. There was no abnormality of the portal vein on portal venography, and blood flow to the azygos vein through the paravertebral and hemiazygos systems was found to drain to the systemic circulation on coronary venography. Contrast echocardiography showed no pulmonary arteriovenous fistula. Symptoms improved with conservative management, and the esophageal varices were found to have improved on esophagogastroduodenoscopy.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.667-672
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• 1985

Primary cardiac tumors are uncommon in all age group. In contrast, tumors metastatic to the heart are significantly more common. On rare occasions, tumor may extend into the heart chamber via inferior vena cava from other parts of the body, such as liver, kidney, and uterus cava. With recent advancement in diagnostic imaging modalities and surgical techniques, cardiac tumors are now potentially curably form of heart disease. The most important factor in diagnosing the tumor is a high index of clinical suspicion. Six patients underwent surgical removal of intracardiac tumor during a 5-year period. The mean age of the 4 women and two men was 40 years [range 23 to 60]. All patients were operated on in the last five years of the studied period. All patients had symptoms varying in duration from 1 month to 4 years [average 13 months]. 2-Dimensional echocardiography contributed most to preoperative diagnosis, confirming presence of an intracardiac tumor in all examined patients. Of the six intracardiac tumor, 5 were myxomas [4 left atrial and 1 right ventricular] and one right atrial metastasis from hepatocellular carcinoma of the liver. In all cases, tumor masses were successfully excised. One patient expired after the operation on account of low cardiac out-put syndrome. Remained one patient among six, tumor mass extended into RA and RV with a stalk via IVC. On later follow-up study showed cold area on liver scan [hepatocellular ca.], so she was transferred to internal medicine, department for chemotherapy. Follow up results showed no signs of tumor recurrence in 4 myxoma cases.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.248-250
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• 2002

A 56 year-old man complaining of dry cough, dyspnea, chest pain, fever, and chills was admitted to the emergency room. The patient had a history of esophagectomy and esophagogastrostomy and subsequent radiotherapy because of an esophageal cancer. After the emergency echocardiography revealed a small amount of pericardial effusion and pneumopericardium. Upper GI contrast study showed a fistulous tract between the stomach and the pericardium, and an emergency operation was done under the diagnosis of gastropericardial fistula. The patient expired postoperative seven days later. Gastropericardial fistula caused by a peptic ulcer perforation after the esophagectomy and esophagogastrostomy operation is a very rare complication and brings forth a disastrous result. Early detection using the chest radiography, electrocardiogram, upper Gl study, echocardiography and a review of physical examination, and an immediate treatment are therefore mandatory.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.334-343
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• 2021

Objective: We aimed to develop a prediction model for diagnosing severe aortic stenosis (AS) using computed tomography (CT) radiomics features of aortic valve calcium (AVC) and machine learning (ML) algorithms. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 408 patients who underwent cardiac CT between March 2010 and August 2017 and had echocardiographic examinations (240 patients with severe AS on echocardiography [the severe AS group] and 168 patients without severe AS [the non-severe AS group]). Data were divided into a training set (312 patients) and a validation set (96 patients). Using non-contrast-enhanced cardiac CT scans, AVC was segmented, and 128 radiomics features for AVC were extracted. After feature selection was performed with three ML algorithms (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator [LASSO], random forests [RFs], and eXtreme Gradient Boosting [XGBoost]), model classifiers for diagnosing severe AS on echocardiography were developed in combination with three different model classifier methods (logistic regression, RF, and XGBoost). The performance (c-index) of each radiomics prediction model was compared with predictions based on AVC volume and score. Results: The radiomics scores derived from LASSO were significantly different between the severe AS and non-severe AS groups in the validation set (median, 1.563 vs. 0.197, respectively, p < 0.001). A radiomics prediction model based on feature selection by LASSO + model classifier by XGBoost showed the highest c-index of 0.921 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.869-0.973) in the validation set. Compared to prediction models based on AVC volume and score (c-indexes of 0.894 [95% CI, 0.815-0.948] and 0.899 [95% CI, 0.820-0.951], respectively), eight and three of the nine radiomics prediction models showed higher discrimination abilities for severe AS. However, the differences were not statistically significant (p > 0.05 for all). Conclusion: Models based on the radiomics features of AVC and ML algorithms may perform well for diagnosing severe AS, but the added value compared to AVC volume and score should be investigated further.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.321-323
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• 2020

We describe the occurrence of acute type A aortic dissection in a patient with situs inversus totalis. A 37-year-old man presented to the emergency department with acute chest pain. Initial chest X-ray findings showed a right-sided heart and a left-sided liver. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed a Stanford type A acute aortic dissection, aortic root dilatation, and situs inversus totalis. All of the thoracic structures were mirror-image reversed and an abnormal coronary artery was observed. The Bentall operation was performed. This report demonstrates that computed tomography and echocardiography were useful for understanding the anatomy and the presence or absence of concurrent anomalies in a patient with situs inversus totalis. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.66 no.1
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• pp.47-51
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• 2009

Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is characterized by a defect in arterial oxygenation that's induced by pulmonary vascular dilatation in the setting of liver disease. Some studies have shown the relationship between the presence of the HPS and the severity of liver disease, but there are only rare cases of HPS inpatient with Child-Pugh class A liver cirrhosis. We report here on a case of a 58 years-old male who suffered from progressive dyspnea for the previous few years. He was diagnosed with alcoholic liver cirrhosis 5 years previously. There was no significant abnormality on the chest radiograph and transthoracic echocardiography, but the arterial blood gas analysis revealed severe hypoxemia. Contrast-enhanced transesophageal echocardiograpy with agitated saline demonstrated a delayed appearance of microbubbles in the left cardiac chambers. Thus, he was finally diagnosed with HPS. This case suggests that we should consider HPS when a patient with compensated liver cirrhosis has unexplained dyspnea.