title: Quadricuspid aortic valve: a rare cause of aortic insufficiency diagnosed by doppler echocardiography. Report of two cases and review of the literature.
abstract: Quadricuspid aortic valve is an uncommon congenital valve disease mostly occurring as isolated lesion or sometimes in association with truncal anomalies. Approximately 50% of patients with quadricuspid aortic valve have aortic regurgitation. Before the advent of echocardiography most cases were diagnosed at the time of surgery or at post-mortem examination. We describe 2 cases of patients with quadricuspid aortic valve diagnosed by echocardiography. The first case, a quadricuspid aortic valve with four equal-sized cusps (type A, according to the classification of Hurwitz and Roberts), was identified in a 26-year-old man undergoing echocardiography because of a heart murmur. The second case, a quadricuspid aortic valve with three relatively equal cusps and one smaller cusp (type B, according to the classification of Hurwitz and Roberts), was identified in a 47-year-old man with a history of murmur. The identification and periodical non-invasive evaluation of a quadricuspid aortic valve is important, because such valves are more vulnerable to infection and need adequate prophylaxis against endocarditis.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology and Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit, University Hospital, Messina, Italy. toninorecupero@virgilio.it
authors.forename: Antonino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Recupero
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pugliatti
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rizzo
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Arrigo
authors.forename: Sebastiano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Coglitore
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001022:Aortic Valve Insufficiency / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009200:Myocardial Contraction / Q000502:physiology