Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2011;38(2):191-3.

Two sporadic infected cardiac myxomas in 1 patient

Affiliations
Case Reports

Two sporadic infected cardiac myxomas in 1 patient

Marek Adamira et al. Tex Heart Inst J. 2011.

Abstract

Infected cardiac myxoma is a rare cause of endocarditis. The finding of coexisting infected cardiac myxomas is highly unusual. Herein, we present the case of a 58-year-old woman with a low-grade fever. Laboratory findings strongly indicated inflammation, and blood cultures detected Staphylococcus species. Echocardiograms revealed mobile masses in the area of the mitral valve. Transesophageal echocardiograms showed 2 formations that arose from opposite sides of the mitral annulus and protruded into the left ventricle during systole. During emergency surgery, 2 abnormal growths with numerous vegetations were completely excised. The diagnosis of myxoma was confirmed upon histologic evaluation. Microbiological and polymerase chain reaction analysis of the myxomas detected the bacterial strain Enterococcus faecalis. Five months postoperatively, the patient showed no signs of recurrent infection and had a normal echocardiographic appearance.This report is the first of an infected cardiac myxoma in the Czech population and one of approximately 60 reports in the medical literature from 1956 to the present. In addition to the case of our patient, we discuss the discrepancy between the bacteriologic findings.

Keywords: Bacteroidaceaeinfections/complications/diagnosis/drug therapy; echocardiography; heart atria/pathology; heart neoplasms/diagnosis/surgery; heart valve diseases/surgery; myxoma/diagnosis/pathology/surgery; neoplasms, second primary; treatment outcome.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

None
Fig. 1 Transesophageal echocardiography shows 2 formations that arise from opposite sides of the mitral annulus (MA) and protrude into the left ventricle (LV) during diastole. LA = left atrium; MX = myxoma
None
Fig. 2 Photomicrograph shows myxomatous tissue with endocarditis-related vegetation and thrombus composed of fibrin with neutrophils and macrophages (H & E, orig. ×50).
None
Fig. 3 Photomicrograph is positive for calretinin in the myxomatous cells (H & E, orig. ×200).

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Schaff HV, Mullany CJ. Surgery for cardiac myxomas. Semin Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2000;12(2):77–88. - PubMed
    1. Tillmanns H. Clinical aspects of cardiac tumors. Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1990;38 Suppl 2:152–6. - PubMed
    1. Shinfeld A, Katsumata T, Westaby S. Recurrent cardiac myxoma: seeding or multifocal disease? Ann Thorac Surg 1998; 66(1):285–8. - PubMed
    1. Mahilmaran A, Seshadri M, Nayar PG, Sudarsana G, Abraham KA. Familial cardiac myxoma: Carney's complex. Tex Heart Inst J 2003;30(1):80–2. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Carney JA. Differences between nonfamilial and familial cardiac myxoma. Am J Surg Pathol 1985;9(1):53–5. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances