[Infected left atrial myxoma]

Abstract

Myxoma is the most common primary tumor of the heart. It is uncommon for these tumors to become infected and, at times, clinical presentation is no different from that of an uninfected myxoma. We describe the case of a 58-year-old woman with a previous pharyngeal infection that developed into infection of a left atrial myxoma and which was complicated by systemic embolism affecting the lower limbs. Streptococcus oralis was identified in blood cultures and embolic material. The tumor was resected and the patient's subsequent clinical evolution was uneventful. The incidence of infected myxoma is very low. A review of the literature based on individual case reports is presented.