INTRACARDIAC THROMBOSIS DIAGNOSED BY ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY IN CHILDHOOD - PREDISPOSING AND ETIOLOGIC FACTORS

Eleven cases of intracardiac thrombi caused by different factors inclu ding protein-C deficiency are presented for discussion of the etiology and predisposing factors of intracardiac thrombi during infancy and c hildhood, and to stress the importance of protein-C deficiency as an e tiological factor. Thrombi were localised in the left heart in five pa tients and right heart in five patients. One patient had both-sided th rombi. Four of our patients had dilated cardiomyopathy, one had mitral valve hypoplasia, and one had pulmonary valvar stenosis as the predis posing factors for thrombus formation. In three patients whose cardiac anatomies were completely normal, we determined protein-C deficiency as an etiological factor of thrombus formation. One of these had conge nital protein-C deficiency and the other two had acquired temporary pr otein-C deficiency due to sepsis. In conclusion we recommend that prot ein-C deficiency should be investigated as an etiological factor in al l cases of intracardiac thrombi irrespective of whether or not another predisposing factor is identified.