Missed large left ventricular thrombus. Failure of two-dimensional echocardiography in one case.
In the case reported, two-dimensional echocardiographic study of a man six weeks after he sustained an extensive transmural anterolateral infarct failed to show evidence of an intraventricular thrombus. Ten days later the patient suddenly died. Autopsy findings included a large fibrin clot, weighing 50 gm, in the left ventricle. Two-dimensional echocardiography is a very sensitive method of defining aneurysm in the apex of the heart and identifying and locating ventricular thrombi usually associated with aneurysm. I consider the false-negative finding in this case to be a rare exception.
D000368:Aged; D004452:Echocardiography; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D006322:Heart Aneurysm / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology