Woman in her 50s with shortness of breath on exertion.

CLINICAL INTRODUCTION: A 59-year-old woman visited an outpatient cardiology clinic due to shortness of breath on exertion. Physical examination showed no significant abnormality of vital signs. A III/VI systolic murmur was heard on the fourth intercostal space at the right sternal border. The majority of laboratory tests were normal. Chest X-ray showed a curved vessel shadow (figure 1A). Initial transthoracic echocardiography showed abnormal blood flow into the inferior vena cava (IVC) in the subxiphoid long axis view (figure 1B) and mild right heart dilatation (online supplementary figure 1). Transoesophageal echocardiography showed severe tricuspid regurgitation (online supplementary figure 2).heartjnl;105/2/110/F1F1F1Figure 1(A) Chest X-ray. (B) Colour Doppler image in the subxiphoid long axis view.DC1SP110.1136/heartjnl-2018-313655.supp1Supplementary data DC2SP210.1136/heartjnl-2018-313655.supp2Supplementary data QUESTION: What is the most likely underlying disease for the patient's shortness of breath on exertion?Pulmonary arteriovenous fistula.Pulmonary arterial hypertension.Lung cancer.Partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection.Isolated tricuspid regurgitation.

Atypical presentation to rocuronium allergy in a 19-year-old female patient.

The danger of anaphylaxis, a rare but life threatening complication of general anesthesia (GA) can be summarized in two: 1. General Anesthesia masks the typical early signs of allergy which can be seen in an awake patient. 2. Anaphylaxis during GA manifests mostly as circulatory/ventilatory failures which can be interpreted as adverse effects of anesthetics or surgery and this can lead to critical delay of effective therapy. A 19-year-old female admitted for posterior spinal fusion and instrumentation (the 5th surgery in patient's life) desaturated seconds after intubation. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was started and the absence of cutaneous signs along with a loud holosystolic murmur were questioned. The patient was promptly resuscitated and allergy to rocuronium was confirmed by intradermal tests 6weeks later. Factors influencing decision making and potential etiology of the newly heard holosystolic murmur during anaphylaxis are discussed.

Pocket-size imaging device as a screening tool for aortic stenosis.

AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of a pocket-size imaging device in the hands of a noncardiologist as a screening tool for diagnosing aortic stenosis in individuals with newly discovered systolic murmur. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 200 consecutive patients with systolic murmur were included; a limited focused cardiac ultrasound was performed with a pocket-size imaging device and compared to standard echocardiography. It was performed by a noncardiologist with no formal training in echocardiography. In all, 150 patients had morphological changes on the aortic valve, 77 had more than mild aortic stenosis, 30 had more than mild mitral regurgitation, 64 patients had more than moderate hypertrophy, 113 had more than moderately enlarged left atriums, and 3 had severely enlarged left ventricles. There were no significant difference in recognizing severe changes between Vscan focused cardiac ultrasound and comprehensive echocardiography. CONCLUSION: Pocket-size ultrasound imaging devices without continuous and pulse wave Doppler modalities can, even in the hands of a noncardiologist with limited cardiac ultrasound instructions with high sensitivity and specificity, be a useful tool for detecting more than mild aortic stenosis and more than mild mitral regurgitation. As such a focused cardiac ultrasound can be an extension of physical examinations for patients with newly discovered systolic murmur.

Unusual cause of an ejection murmur: myxoma in the left ventricular outflow tract.

We present the case of a healthy, asymptomatic 50-year-old woman with a systolic ejection murmur who was found to have an obstructive left ventricular outflow tract mass. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a large mobile mass attached to the basal anterior septum of the left ventricle. Surgical resection was performed and a benign left ventricular outflow tract myxoma was diagnosed. The patient's postoperative course was unremarkable. We describe the clinical presentation and role of 2- and 3-dimensional transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography in surgical management.