ASSESSMENT OF NONINVASIVE NEW IMAGING TECHNIQUES IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF HEART LIPOSARCOMA

Two patients, with recurrent acute pericarditis as the first presentat ion of liposarcoma, were admitted to our department between August and December 1992. The pericarditis was pericardial in one case and retro peritoneal with pericardial inflammation in the other. In contrast to most reported cases, where diagnosis was made post-mortem, diagnosis a nd surgical decision were based on non-invasive imaging techniques wit hout cardiac angiography. In cases of recurrent acute pericarditis res istant to usual drugs, new imaging techniques, such as computed tomode nsitometry and magnetic resonance imaging, can detect rave causes such as liposarcomas in which prognosis is critically dependent on early d iagnosis