BRUGADA-LIKE ECG PATTERN AND TUMORS INVOLVING RIGHT VENTRICULAR OUTFLOW TRACT - CASE SERIES AND LITERATURE REVIEW.

Mechanical heart compression, including that from mediastinal tumor, may cause Brugada-like ECG pattern. Such ECG pattern might also be observed in intracardiac tumor obstructing the right ventricular out"ow tract (RVOT). Eight cases with Brugada-like ECG and tumors involving RVOT have been described so far; 4 growing in the mediastinum (with one example of in"ammatory mass), 3 with intracardiac location, and 1 being an organized pericardial hematoma. The authors present other 3 cases of intracardiac metastatic tumors in RVOT and Brugada-like ECG pattern with coved ST-segment elevation in the right precordial leads. All patients had negative history of cardiovascular disease or familiar malignant arrhythmia occurrence. ECG were done routinely; none of the patients had chest pain or an increased level of cardiac troponins. In all patients, neoplastic disease was at advanced stage. A 76-year-old male, had a history of four neoplasms: bladder cancer was being treated with chemotherapy, while prostate, tongue, and lung cancers had been resected years ago and no signs of local relapse were found. A 78-year-old female, was diagnosed with colon cancer 1 month after an episode of venous thromboembolism. Six months after the resection of cancer, second focus of adenocarcinoma was found in the rectum. Third patient, a 65-year-old-male had undergone nephrectomy for renal cancer a year before cardiac metastasis diagnosis.

Native heart valve thrombosis associated with COVID-19 - a report of 4 cases.

Native heart valve thrombosis (NHVT) is a rare valvular pathology, usually associated with prothrombotic state or disturbed intracardiac blood flow related to structural valve abnormalities. While different venous and arterial thromboembolic complications of COVID-19 have been widely described, so far NHVT has not been reported in the context of the disease. The authors describe 4 cases of NHVT associated with COVID-19, revealed on aortic, mitral (2 patients) and tricuspid valve. In a 29-yearold male with mild pneumonia, large thrombus developed on bicuspid aortic valve (BAV), which resulted in fatal brain emboli. In a 76-yearold male with a history of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) being in a recovery period after COVID-19, central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) was the first sign of mitral valve thrombus, which disappeared after 3 weeks, during apixaban use. Such therapy was also successful in a 46-yearold female with multiple cardiovascular risk factors in whom mitral valve thrombus was found in a routine echocardiography after she got COVID-19 the third time. In a 75-year-old man with moderate COVID-19 pneumonia and bacterial coinfection, coexistent transient focal LV dysfunction and tricuspid valve thrombus were observed. The patient was treated with apixaban as well; however, in this case only reduction in the thrombus size was seen after 4 months therapy. The authors indicate that in patients with COVID-19 and NHVT, other prothrombotic conditions can usually be found. This complication may involve different valves and occur irrespective of COVID-19 severity. Interdisciplinary evaluation of such patients is necessary.

Retroperitoneal hematoma in COVID-19 patients - case series.

COVID-19 patients, particularly those with severe pulmonary involvement, are at an increased thromboembolic risk related, among various causes, to the cytokine storm and excessive activation of the coagulation cascade and platelets. Different intensity of anticoagulation for them is proposed, mainly with low molecular weight heparins (LMWHs); in a confirmed pulmonary embolism (PE) the therapeutic dose of LMWH is routinely used. Some authors suggest that hemorrhagic complications in COVID-19 patients are rare. At the same time, one can find reports on internal bleeding, including retroperitoneal hematoma (RPH) and other abdominal hematomas. CASE REPORTS: The authors describe 5 cases (3 of those aged more than 80 years) with giant RPHs and with moderate/severe COVID-19 pneumonia, treated before RPH diagnosis with different enoxaparin doses. The therapeutic dose was given to the male with verified PE limited to the segmental/subsegmental pulmonary arteries and initially to the female in whom echocardiography was strongly suggestive of PE, yet this diagnosis was excluded on CT angiography. In one patient, the enoxaparin dose was escalated from 40 mg bd to 60 mg bd after the D-dimer increase. Two patients had bleeding complications despite the enoxaparin dose restricted to 40 mg/daily or bd. Two males had a coexistent psoas hematoma while in only one female there was a coexistent femoral hematoma. RPHs occurred between day 4 and 14 of hospitalization and all were treated conservatively. Three patients who died were particularly charged, so their deaths were not merely directly associated with RPH, which was closely analyzed in one autopsy performed. The authors underline that the choice of anticoagulation intensity in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia without venous thromboembolism seems sometimes difficult but recent publications indicate the low prophylactic enoxaparin dose as an optimal option. Anticoagulation dose escalation based only on the D-dimer level may not be appropriate for certain patients; moreover, the D-dimer increase is commonly observed during internal bleeding.

Brugada phenocopy in pulmonary embolism - clinicopathological case study and literature review.

Brugada syndrome (BrS) is an inherited channelopathy characterized on ECG by coved (type 1) or saddle-back (type 2) ST-segment elevation (STE) of 2 or more mm in the right precordial leads and is associated with an increased risk of malignant ventricular arrhythmias. The term Brugada phenocopy (BrPh) indicates conditions that may reversibly induce Brugada-like ECG pattern in patients without true BrS; e.g.: metabolic abnormalities, mechanical heart compression, ischemia, myocarditis/pericarditis, and pulmonary embolism (PE). Only 9 cases of BPh associated with PE have been described so far. The authors present another case of a 41-year-old-male and analyze the clinical data of all 10 subjects (7 males and 3 females). Type 1 of ECG Brugada pattern was present in 7 patients (including ours), type 2 was found in 2 persons; in 1 case ECG pattern was not defined. In 7 patients STE was prominent (5 mm or more in at least 1 lead). STE was limited to V1-V2 leads in 4 persons, extended to V3 in 3 patients and even to V4 in 3 other patients, which correlated with the significant right ventricular (RV) dilatation. Concomitant left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction was reported only in 1 patient, which suggested that paradoxical embolization of coronary artery was not the mechanism of BrS-like STE. Clinical course of PE was usually severe (5 individuals were treated with thrombolysis) and in 3 cases it ended with death. The autopsy was only performed on our patient. It showed diffuse (ischemic) injury of RV and LV secondary to RV overload, decreased cardiac output and severe oxygen deficiency in myocardium, which could have led to BrS pattern in ECG.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy in a young male with lung cancer and neoplastic embolization of the coronary microcirculation.

The associations between stress-induced takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) and cancer or its therapy have been studied with increasing interest in recent years. Different mechanisms of TC development in neoplastic disease are suggested, including a decreased threshold for stress stimuli or aggravated heart adrenoreceptors sensitivity. The action of cytokines and reactive oxygen species on the myocardium, on the epicardial arteries as well as on the coronary microcirculation is also taken into consideration. The authors describe a case of a 30-year-old male with lung cancer, after immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors followed by two lines of chemotherapy and after pericardial and pleural drainage. He was admitted to hospital due to severe heart failure (HF) with echocardiographic features of apical TC. During symptomatic treatment of HF his state temporarily improved and left ventricular function returned to normal. Unfortunately, a few days later, he died. The autopsy revealed histological features of TC (contraction band necrosis), cardiac infiltration by cancer and the presence of cancer cells in the coronary microcirculation, which was not previously reported in TC patients. The authors emphasize that disseminated neoplastic embolization of the coronary microcirculation may be important in TC pathogenesis in some cancer patients.

Acalculous cholecystitis in a female with cardiac device-related infective endocarditis.

Acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) is a necroinflammatory disease of the gallbladder with no gallstones present. ACC is known to be a serious, even potentially lethal complication observed mainly in patients with various severe underlying conditions including trauma, burn and sepsis. Infection of cardiac implantable electronic devices may lead to cardiac device-related infective endocarditis (CDRIE). The authors describe a case of a 55-year-old female with a history of advanced heart failure and implantation/reimplantation of biventricular pacemaker/defibrillator (CRT-D) for cardiac resynchronization therapy. She was admitted presently due to the symptoms of septicemia. Echocardiography revealed CDRIE with mobile vegetations on pacemaker leads; chest computed tomography showed pulmonary infarctions. Staphylococcus aureus was cultured from the blood. Antibiotics were applied in accordance with antimicrobial susceptibility and were continued after percutaneous leads extraction and pacemaker explantation. After 6 weeks of hospitalization, nonspecific abdominal symptoms developed, ultrasonography and computed tomography confirmed AAC diagnosis. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the case presented is the first report of ACC in a patient with CDRIE due to infection of pacemaker leads.

[Non-bacterial thrombotic endocarditis on the bicuspid aortic valve in a 25-year-old male with lupus anticoagulant]. / Niebakteryjne zakrzepowe zapalenie wsierdzia na dwuplatkowej zastawce aortalnej u 25-letniego mezczyzny z antykoagulantem toczniowym.

Non-bacterial thrombotic endocarditis (NBTE) is characterized by presence of sterile vegetations that develop from fibrin and platelets on heart valves. The main conditions predisposing to NBTE are malignancy, autoimmune diseases and other hypercoagulable states. The authors describe a case of a 25-year-old male, in whom NBTE was diagnosed on the bicuspid aortic valve. The presence of significant aortic regurgitation and dental caries were initially suggestive of infective endocarditis; although, serial blood culture were negative and procalcytonin concentration was within normal ranges. Empiric antibiotic therapy did not result in diminishing of vegetations, similarly to the anticoagulation treatment initiated when strongly positive lupus anticoagulant was detected in laboratory findings. Aortic valve replacement was necessary. Bacteriologic examination of the excised valve was negative. Widespread fibrin masses at different stages of organization on the leaflets confirmed NBTE in histopathologic assessment. Lupus anticoagulant was probably secondary to thyroid autoimmune disease.

[Recurrent right atrial thrombus in a patient with atrial fibrillation and heart failure]. / Nawrotowa skrzeplina w prawym przedsionku u chorego z migotaniem przedsionków i niewydolnoscia serca.

Atrial fibrillation and heart failure are factors predisposing to locally formed intracardiac thrombosis, which is usually localized in left-sided chambers. A case report. The authors present a case of a 50-year-old male with permanent atrial fibrillation and dilated cardiomyopathy in whom recurrent right atrial thrombus was observed. Initially, the lesion was detected in echocardiography while he was hospitalized due to extensive right-sided pneumonia. The thrombus was successfully treated with heparin, followed by warfarin. Even though the patient continued warfarin use properly, there was recurrence of the thrombus two years later during a new episode of heart failure exacerbation. Because the thrombus was resistant to intensified anticoagulation, cardiac surgery was needed. A large (30 x 25 mm) pedunculated thrombus, as well as two smaller ones (each of 10 x 10 mm) attached closely to the atrial wall and previously not detected either by echocardiography or by magnetic resonance imaging, were excited. A partially organized pattern of the thrombi in histological examination can explain lack of anticoagulation effectiveness.

[Isolated tricuspid valve infective endocarditis in a patient with a urological history]. / Izolowane infekcyjne zapalenle wsierdzia na zastawce trójdzielnej u chorego z wywiadem urologicznym.

Infective endocardits of the tricuspid valve (TVIE) occurs mainly in addicted-intravenous drug users, in the presence of intracardiac electrodes or central venous catheters, and in some congenital heart diseases; rarely, in other conditions. The authors present a case of a 61-year-old male with TVIE as a result of complicated transurethral resection of bladder papilloma. The onset of TVIE was insidious, with low back pain, followed by pulmonary symptoms. Echocardiography showed large vegetations on the tricuspid valve; blood culture was positive for methycylin-resistant, coagulase-negative staphylococcus. Fever remission and negative bacteriological blood examination results were achieved following treatment with linezolid; however, because of advanced tricuspid valve destruction, valve replacement was necessary.

[Uncommon presentation of venous thromboembolism and fatal systemic emboli in a patient with nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis due to pancreatic cancer]. / Nietypowy obraz zylnych powiklan zakrzepowo-zatorowych i zatorowosc systemowa u chorego z nieinfekcyjnym zakrzepowym zapaleniem wsierdzia w przebiegu raka trzustki.

In the presented case of a 60-year-old man, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism symptoms preceded pancreatic cancer diagnosis. An unexpected echocardiographic finding was a longitudinal mass attached to the tricuspid valve, and extending to the pulmonary artery - suggestive of a thrombus (as confirmed further autopsy), probably embolic in origin. This uncommon situation might be due to nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis, which involved all, but mainly tricuspid and aortic valves. During heparin therapy the patient's haemodynamic status was stable until systemic emboli occurred with multifocal ischaemic stroke that was the cause of death.

[Diagnostic problems in eosinophilic fasciitis]. / Problemy diagnostyczne zwiazane z eozynofilowym zapaleniem powiezi.

We presented two cases with symptoms of diffuse swelling of subcutaneous tissue, stiffness and tenderness of involved areas, fever, eosinophilia and hypergammaglobulinemia. The inflammatory infiltrates consisting of lymphocytes, plasma cells and eosinophils were yielded in fascia. The difficulties in differentition of the symptoms between eosinophilic fasciitis and "eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome" are discussed.