title: Reliability of echocardiography in the detection of metastatic malignant pericardial masses.
abstract: Pericardial metastasis is a rare localization of a malignant neoplasm. We report a 28-year-old man with metastatic spread of an epithelial thymoma into the pericardium. This in turn compressed the heart with induction of exertional dyspnea, hepatomegaly, chest pain and increased jugular venous pressure. All these features occurred in the absence of significant hemodynamic impairment. Echocardiography revealed an intrapericardial mass at the level of the left ventricular free wall. Surgical removal of this pericardial neoplasm produced a rapid improvement in clinical status. Ultrasonography, therefore, is a reliable noninvasive method for the diagnosis of cardiac impairment due to a pericardial metastatic mass.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gerontology, First Faculty of Medicine, University of Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cacciapuoti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Arpino
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: D'Avino
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004452:Echocardiography; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010496:Pericardium / Q000473:pathology*; D013945:Thymoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary*; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*