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CT and MRI findings of cardiac echinococcosis

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  • Cardiovascular radiology
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Abstract

Fifteen patients (8 males and 7 females, 15–56 years old) with primary or secondary hydatid disease involving the heart were examined by radiography, CT and/or MRI. MRI was done with a 1.5 T machine (Picker) in 11 cases and a 0.5 T machine (Philips) in 4 cases using ECG-gated T1- and T2-weighted spin-echo pulse sequences. Transaxial sections were combined with at least one mr more plane (coronal and/or sagittal) and intermediate views if the need for further information was anticipated. In 4 patients primary cardiac echinococcal cysts were found, localised to the left ventricle/pericardium/interventricular septum in 2 cases and to the left atrium/percardium and right atrium/pericardium in 1 case each. In 11 of 15 cases there was secondary involvement of the heart by echinococcal cysts primarily arising in the lung parenchyma (n = 6), mediastinum (n = 3) and by transdiaphragmatic extension from the liver and abdomen (n = 2). CT was superior to MRI in visualising calcifications. However, ECG-gated MRI of cardiac hydatid disease appears to be the method of choice for specific diagnosis and exact assessment of hydatid cysts and their correlation with cardiac structures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology MBC 28, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, P.O. Box 3354, 11211, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    W. N. von Sinner

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  1. W. N. von Sinner
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Correspondence to: W. N. von Sinner

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von Sinner, W.N. CT and MRI findings of cardiac echinococcosis. Eur. Radiol. 5, 66–73 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00178084

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00178084

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