A left ventricular lipoma diagnosed on three-dimensional electrocardiogram-gated cardiac computed tomography

Cardiac lipomas are extremely rare primary benign cardiac tumors. We describe a patient with a chief complaint of ventricular tachycardia associated with a lipoma arising in the left ventricular myocardium. The cardiac lipoma was qualitatively evaluated and its location was accurately determined noninvasively with the use of three-dimensional images reconstructed from data acquired by electrocardiogram-gated cardiac computed tomography (CT). Our experience suggests that high-resolution three-dimensional CT imaging may facilitate the determination of strategies for surgical treatment.     

Adrenal macrotumors diagnosed by computed tomography

Adrenal tumors larger than 6 cm are unusual but show a greater incidence of malignant etiologies than smaller adrenal tumors. The scarce information about adrenal macrotumors (AMT) induced us to study prospectively all patients who were seen in our clinic during the period 1984-1988 and were diagnosed by computed tomography (CT) to have an adrenal mass greater than or equal to 6 cm. The clinical characteristics, including the main complaint, tumoral secretory activity, CT findings and histologic diagnosis from 18 patients are described; they represented a 0.3% of the total amount of abdominal CT studies performed. Seventy-two % of AMT resulted to be non cortisol or catecholamines secreting masses, and from them, a 38% corresponded to malignant etiologies characterized by marked and rapid weight loss. Four out of five hormone secreting AMT corresponded to pheochromocytomas, while the fifth one resulted to be a bilateral macronodular hyperplasia secreting cortisol. In two cases AMT did not correspond to a genuine adrenal mass, resulting to be a malignant histocytoma in one case and a hydatidic cyst in other one. When performed in two occasions, a percutaneous needle biopsy was a valuable diagnostic tool, permitting to diagnose a lymphoma and a tuberculoma. In conclusion: 1) AMT correspond mainly to non cortisol or catecholamines secreting tumors, often malignant; 2) not all AMT diagnosed by CT correspond to true adrenal masses; 3) percutaneous needle biopsy can be a helpful procedure for diagnosing nonfunctioning solid AMT.     

Congenital pericardial defect diagnosed by computed tomography

Complete or partial absence of the pericardium is a relatively rare disorder. While physical examination, electrocardiogram, and chest x-ray may suggest the diagnosis, definitive noninvasive diagnosis has until recently not been possible. In the patient described in the present report, the basis for chest pain initially attributed to myocardial ischemia was established noninvasively by computed tomographic examination of the chest to be congenital absence of the left pericardium. Experience with this patient emphasizes the fact that one of the known bases for nonischemic chest pain--congenital pericardial defects--can be precisely defined by contrast-negative computed tomographic imaging.     

Catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia guided by contrast-enhanced cardiac computed tomography.

We describe catheter ablation of recurrent ventricular tachycardia using high-resolution definition of a myocardial infarct scar by contrast-enhanced cardiac computed tomography (CT). Positron emission tomography scanning as well as three-dimensional electroanatomic mapping confirmed the extent of scar prior to ablation. Catheter ablation based on substrate mapping was successful in eliminating the ventricular tachycardia. Detection of scar by cardiac CT has the potential to abbreviate voltage/substrate mapping in the electrophysiology laboratory. To our knowledge, this is the first time myocardial scar was defined by cardiac CT and utilized for defining an ablation strategy for ventricular tachycardia.     

Single-photon emission computed tomography in diagnosis of left ventricular post-infarction aneurysm

AIM: To assess value of single-photon emission computed tomography with (99m)Tc-sestamibi ((99m)Tc MIBI SPECT) for detection of post-infarction left ventricular aneurysm in patients with coronary artery disease. MATERIAL: Fifty nine patients were operated upon because of coronary heart disease. In 27 patients with post-infarction left ventricular aneurysm modified Dor operation (aneurysmectomy with endoventricular circular patch plasty reconstruction) was performed. In 24 patients with extended cardiosclerosis direct myocardial revascularization was conducted. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Comparison of (99m)Tc MIBI SPECT data obtained at rest and during dobutamine stress test revealed some diagnostic features characteristic of patients with left ventricular post-infarction aneurysm. Quantitative and qualitative assessment of viability of myocardium in basal and "borderline" zones influenced not only the volume of revascularization, it was important for preliminary determination of post-infarction left ventricular aneurysm resection level, selection of type of plasty, prognostication of complications in immediate and remote postoperative periods.     

Diagnosis of left ventricular aneurysm by exercise thallium-201 myocardial single photon emission computed tomography

To diagnose and characterize post-infarction left ventricular aneurysms, we performed exercise thallium-201 myocardial single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) combined with selective coronary angiography and left ventriculography. The subjects consisted of 79 patients with acute myocardial infarction; 42 with anteroseptal, three with both anterior and inferior, 29 with inferior and five with posterior infarction. Visual classification of ventricular wall morphology by either a horizontal or a vertical long-axis image was designed into convergent (C), parallel (P) and divergent (D) types, according to the interrelationship between either septal and lateral wall or anterior and inferior wall, respectively. This method was applied in post-stress and delayed images, and these patients were divided into five groups (Group A-E) in accordance with varying morphological types from the post-stress to the delayed as follows: C-C (Group A, 36 patients), P-C (Group B, 8), P-P (Group C, 7), D-P (Group D, 5) and D-D (Group E, 23). A high incidence (21/23) of a left ventricular aneurysm by left ventriculography was recognized in Group E patients in comparison with other Groups. Provided that either Group D or E (all patients had anterior infarction) had left ventricular aneurysms, the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 89%, 92% and 86%, respectively. Two of three patients with false negative diagnosis had only apical involvement. Furthermore, these two Groups had significantly larger defect scores as calculated by polar maps than did the other three Groups. When patients with anterior infarction with defect scores of 200 or greater were defined positive, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of ventricular aneurysms were 96%, 75% and 86%, respectively. One false negative case was apical infarction, and one of the two false positive cases were extensive anteroseptal infarction involving the apex. These results suggest that a left ventricular aneurysm which is important in predicting prognostic sequence could be diagnosed only by exercise SPECT, and that it could be characterized by extensive and severe apicoanterior infarction and a divergent-type ventricular wall arrangement on a post-stress SPECT image.     

Marfan syndrome with ascending aortic aneurysm: Value of cardiac computed tomography

We report the case of a 40-year-old man with known Marfan syndrome who presented with severe aortic valve regurgitation secondary to significant aortic root dilatation. To rule out coronary artery disease and to evaluate the rest of the thoracic aorta before surgery, cardiac computed tomography (CT) was performed. A brief review of the literature shows how cardiac CT can, in selected cases, rule out coronary artery disease before non-coronary cardiothoracic surgery.     

Active gastrointestinal diverticulum bleeding diagnosed by computed tomography angiography

A diverticulum is a bulging sack in any portion of the gastrointestinal tract. Small intestine diverticular disease is much less common than colonic diverticular disease. The most common symptoms include non-specific epigastric pain and a bloating sensation. Major complications include diverticulitis, gastrointestinal bleeding, acute perforation, intestinal obstruction, intestinal perforation, localized abscess, malabsorption, anemia, volvulus and bacterial overgrowth. We report one case of massive jejunal diverticula bleeding and one case of massive colonic diverticula bleeding, both diagnosed by acute abdominal computed tomography angiography and treated successfully by surgery.