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Cardiac Magnetic Resonance for the Evaluation of Suspected Cardiac Thrombus: Conventional and Emerging Techniques
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Published on: June 11, 2019

Cardiac hydatid cyst mimicking malignancy

Sabire Yilmaz1, Meftune Ozhan, Sait Sager

  • 1Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, University of Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey. yilmaz_sabire@yahoo.com

Clinical Nuclear Medicine
|June 4, 2011
PubMed

Insights

A 50-year-old man with persistent chest pain was diagnosed with a cardiac hydatid cyst. This rare parasitic infection mimicked malignancy on imaging, highlighting diagnostic challenges in cardiac masses.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Radiology
  • Parasitology

Background:

  • A 50-year-old male presented with a 7-year history of chest pain, with normal initial diagnostic workup.
  • Standard tests including physical examination, lab tests, chest X-ray, and ECG were unremarkable.

Observation:

  • Cardiac MRI revealed a significant 64x66 mm mass in the left myocardium.
  • PET/CT showed minimal fluorodeoxyglucose uptake at the mass periphery, raising suspicion for malignancy.

Findings:

  • Surgical excision via thoracotomy was performed.
  • Histopathology confirmed the cardiac mass to be a hydatid cyst, a parasitic infection.

Implications:

  • This case underscores the importance of considering rare parasitic infections in the differential diagnosis of cardiac masses.
  • Advanced imaging like MRI and PET/CT can aid in characterizing cardiac lesions, but definitive diagnosis often requires histopathology.
  • The successful surgical removal of the hydatid cyst resolved the patient's symptoms.

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