Spontaneous rupture of a congenital diverticulum of the right ventricle in a 1-month-old child.
Spontaneous rupture of a thin fibrous congenital subepicardial diverticulum of the right ventricle of the heart resulted in a sudden death of an 1-mth-old child. Heart catheterization with angiocardiography at 1 and 2 wk of age revealed a truncus arteriosus type A 1 with a small frontal outbulging in the level with the outflow of the right ventricle, interpreted as a blind infurdibular chamber. At autopsy this outbulging was identified as a congenital fibrous diverticulum of the right ventricle. Death was due to rupture of the diverticulum and hemopericardium. The case motivated a reviewing of the literature dealing with congenital diverticula of the right ventricle of the heart, as well as a discussion of problems with the diagnosis of the diverticulum.
D004240:Diverticulum / Q000151:congenital* / Q000473:pathology; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000473:pathology*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D010490:Pericardial Effusion / Q000209:etiology; D012422:Rupture, Spontaneous