Double chambered right ventricle: delineation by multiplane transoesophageal echocardiography

Double-chambered right ventricle associated with infective endocarditis complication of the pulmonary valve: surgical management

Double-chambered right ventricle (DCRV) is a rare congenital heart disease characterized by the presence of anomalous muscle bundles, which divide the right ventricle into two chambers: a high-pressure proximal chamber and a low-pressure distal chamber. Most DCRV patients are diagnosed and treated during childhood, and presentation in adulthood is not common. Many congenital heart diseases are often associated with other complications such as infective endocarditis (IE). Right-side endocarditis, which usually involves infection of the tricuspid valve, is uncommon, and endocarditis of the pulmonary valve is extremely rare. We report a 51-year-old woman with undiagnosed DCRV and ventricular septal defect associated with pulmonary valve endocarditis. The diagnostic evaluation and the surgical management are discussed.

Double chambered right ventricle: Depiction at three-dimensional whole heart magnetic resonance imaging

Double chambered right ventricle (DCRV) is a rare form of congenital heart disease in which the right ventricle is divided into a high-pressure inlet site and a low-pressure outlet site by anomalous muscle bands. Whole heart magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which depicts 3-dimensional anatomy of the heart and coronary arteries was useful to diagnose DCRV.

The role of echocardiography in diagnosing double chambered right ventricle in adults

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the utility of echocardiography in diagnosing double chambered right ventricle (DCRV) in adults.

DESIGN

A retrospective study.

SETTING

Department of Congenital Heart Diseases and Department of Cardiac Surgery, Institute of Cardiology, Warsaw, Poland.

PATIENTS

32 patients, mean age 32.5 years, 21 female, and 11 male.

INTERVENTION

Transthoracic (TTE) and transoesophageal (TOE) echocardiographic examination in patients with suspected DCRV.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Direct inspection during surgical treatment of 28 patients diagnosed as having DCRV as an isolated lesion or associated with other pathologies.

RESULTS

Echocardiography allowed the final diagnosis of DCRV in 26 patients (81%) out of 32 studied. TTE was diagnostic in 5 (15.6%) whereas TOE was diagnostic in 21 of 21 studied by this technique. Of 6 patients with negative TTE, DCRV was identified by cardiac catheterisation in 3 and directly during surgery in the remaining 3. Of 26 patients diagnosed by echocardiography, the anomalous muscle bundle was discrete in 20 (77%) and diffuse in 6 (23%). In 23 patients (88%) right ventricular outflow obstruction was localised low in the right ventricle, and in the remaining 3 (11.5%), the obstruction was localised high in the right ventricle. Abnormal bundles localised high were discrete, bundles localised in the lower part of right ventricle were discrete in 17 (74%) and diffuse in the remaining 6 (26%). DCRV was an isolated lesion in only 2 patients (6.2%). In all subjects surgical inspection confirmed echocardiographic data.

CONCLUSIONS

Echocardiography was very useful to diagnose DCRV in adults as well as to identify its anatomic type. Comparing two different approaches, TOE better defines the entire scope of pathology, including estimation of the resultant systolic pressure gradient within the right ventricular cavity.

Double-Chambered Right Ventricle Associated with Mural and Pulmonic Valve Endocarditis: Description of a Clinical Case and Review of the Literature

A double-chambered right ventricle is a relatively uncommon congenital cardiac defect characterized by the presence of anomalous muscle bundles dividing the right ventricle into a high-pressure proximal chamber and a low-pressure distal chamber. This pathology is often wrongly diagnosed in adult patients. We report the first case of a patient with double-chambered right ventricle associated with a mural and pulmonic valve endocarditis caused by Streptococcus parasanguis diagnosed with two-dimensional echocardiography. During the course of treatment, the patient suffered from a septic pulmonary embolism, and subsequently required surgical intervention, which confirmed the echocardiographic findings.

Rapid progression of midventricular obstruction in adults with double-chambered right ventricle

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of progression of midventricular obstruction in adolescents and adults with double-chambered right ventricle.

METHODS

Clinical and echocardiographic findings in 45 patients (mean age 26 +/- 6 years, range 15-44) diagnosed with double-chambered right ventricle were retrospectively analyzed. Twenty patients underwent surgical repair before the age of 15 years. The relationship between Doppler midventricular pressure gradient and patient age was analyzed in 25 patients without previous repair. Sequential change in midventricular obstruction was determined for patients with 2 or more Doppler echocardiographic examinations performed within at least a 2-year interval.

RESULTS

Right midventricular pressure gradient in nonrepaired patients was 70 +/- 38 mm Hg (range 25-150). A significant relationship between midventricular obstruction and patient age (r = 0.64, P <.001) was found. Midventricular pressure gradient at initial evaluation was 32 +/- 27 mm Hg in 16 patients < 25 years and 73 +/- 45 mm Hg in 9 patients >/= 25 years (P <.03). After the initial study, 5 patients underwent surgical repair and 13 patients without repair were followed up for a period of 6.1 +/- 2.7 years (range 2-9), in which midventricular pressure gradient increased from 32 +/- 26 mm Hg to 67 +/- 35 mm Hg (P <.001). The slope of the change in midventricular pressure gradient was 6.2 +/- 3 mm Hg per year of follow-up. Seven more patients underwent surgical repair during follow-up due to progression of the obstruction. There was no mortality nor residual midventricular obstruction in surgically repaired patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Mild right midventricular obstruction shows a fast rate of progression in adolescents and young adults. Thus, close clinical and echocardiographic follow-up is advised, and surgical repair should be considered if significant progression of obstruction is detected.