HYDATID CYST OF THE RIGHT VENTRICLE WITH ACUTE COR-PULMONALE

A 25-year-old woman was admitted for acute cor pulmonale secondary to pulmonary embolism caused by parasites released from a hydatid cyst in the right ventricle. The physical evaluation and a number of investig ations, of which the most informative was a perfusion lung photoscan, allowed to evaluate the extent of the metastatic pulmonary hydatid cys t disease. The outcome was fatal. Although 50% of cardiac hydatid cyst s are isolated and therefore difficult to detect sufficiently early, t he other 50% of patients have hydatid cysts at other sites. Patients w ith known hydatid cysts should be evaluated for cardiac involvement.