title: Left atrial tumour mimicking pulmonary embolism.
abstract: Primary cardiac tumours have been described as great imitators. They are rare, and clinical presentations are diverse. Diagnosis is usually made by two-dimensional echocardiography. The present case report describes a case where a left atrial fibrosarcoma eluded diagnosis by echocardiography, and was eventually demonstrated by computed tomography. Management was complicated by the presence of persistent mismatch demonstrated by ventilation-perfusion lung scans. The likely mechanism underlying this phenomenon is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Medicine, St Peter's Hospital, Surrey, U.K.
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Seal
authors.forename: H R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Rutter
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Horrigan
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Britton
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014692:Ventilation-Perfusion Ratio