[Cardiac hydatid cyst. Two cases in children]

Diagnosis of a cardiac hydatid cyst is difficult because of the absence of specific clinical signs. This is a rare disease in adults, but even rarer in children.

In a 12 year-old girl, operated on for a pulmonary hyatid cyst 4 years earlier, respiratory distress appeared. This was caused by right heart failure secondary to a chronic hyatid post-embolus pulmonary heart. In a 13 year-old boy exhibiting pulmonary hydatosis (first clinical signs 3 years earlier) echocardiography revealed a multi-compartmented cystic image of the anterior wall of the left atrium, with another similar image in the anterior section of the pulmonary infundibulum.

These observations illustrate the potential gravity of complications of a hydatid cyst, endemic parasitosis in North Africa (metastatic pulmonary echinococcosis and chronic pulmonary heart). Imaging is crucial for the early diagnosis, assessment of the lesions and follow-up after treatment.