198 Clinical and Radiological Features of Cardiac Hydatid Cysts: A Case Series

Abstract

Abstract Aim Hydatid cyst disease is a pathology caused by tapeworm Echinococcus. The cardiac involvement is rare, so the aim of this study is to highlight its clinical polymorphism and different radiological features. Method This is a retrospective study of 7 patients diagnosed with cardiac hydatid cysts who were admitted to our department in a 5-year duration. Results We see that most affected individuals were women (4 out of 7), the revealing symptoms were mostly chest pain and dyspnea, only one case presented AV block with faintness. Concerning the localizations: 2 patients had pericardial cysts, 2 had intramyocardial cysts, 2 others had both pericardial and intramyocardial cysts and the last one presented an interventricular septum cyst. Six patients were diagnosed through transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and one patient with CT of the chest. In all cases, TTE described a cystic mass except one case that presented multivesicular aspect. The diameter of the cysts ranged between 20 and 88 mm. Two patients had associated liver hydatid cyst and one had pulmonary hydatid cyst. All these patients underwent open-heart surgery for conservative treatment under cardiopulmonary bypass. Only one patient presented recurrence which was treated with albendazole with good results. No patient benefited from pre-operative medication with anthelmintic. Conclusions Cardiac hydatic cysts are rare and usually discovered after dyspnea or chest pain. TTE is the most efficient method of diagnosis. Due to life-threatening complications that these cysts can cause, surgery is the main modality of treatment.