A case report of late-onset symptoms of erythrocytosis in univentricular dextrocardia

RATIONALE

Univentricular dextrocardia is a rare congenital heart disease that usually presents cyanotic manifestations from childhood. Due to the sustained dysfunction of blood oxygenation, it is very difficult to keep an asymptomatic survival. Herein, we described an interesting case of univentricular dextrocardia who suffered from initial symptoms in his middle age.

PATIENT CONCERNS

A 54-year-old male patient with numbness and tingling of limbs was admitted to hospital due to the secondary manifestations of congenital heart disease.

DIAGNOSIS

The patient was diagnosed as univentricular dextrocardia with pulmonary hypertension and secondary erythrocytosis based on computed tomography (CT) scan, echocardiography, and laboratory examinations.

INTERVENTIONS

Intravenous hydration therapy with normal saline successfully eliminated his hyperviscosity associated symptoms. In view of socio-economic reasons, this patient refused surgical evaluation and further medical interventions.

OUTCOMES

During 18-month follow up, he received no drug except for regular water intake. Fortunately, his life quality was satisfactory, and no other symptoms emerged except for mild numbness of limbs.

LESSONS

In univentricular dextrocardia, it is possible to keep a long-term asymptomatic period due to the slow progress of pathophysiology. In this population, regular cardiac function evaluation and avoiding dehydration may help improve the quality of life.

Dextrocardia with complete AV block and the implantation of a temporary pacemaker before cesarean section: A case report

RATIONALE

Patients with situs inversus totalis (SIT) and complete atrioventricular (AV) block are extremely rare, and only few cases have been reported up to now. Due to the rarity of such condition and its anatomical complexity, we reported this case as a reference for obstetricians, providing valuable insights into potential clinical treatment.

PATIENT CONCERNS

We reported a case of 30-year-old patient with complete AV block, and her heart rate was only about 45 beats per minute.

DIAGNOSES

The patient was diagnosed with term delivery with SIT and complete AV block.

INTERVENTIONS

A temporary pacemaker (TPM) was implanted before cesarean section (CS) because of complete AV block.

OUTCOMES

CS was performed successfully after the implantation of a TPM. The heart rate remained stable, and the 24-hour blood loss was limited.

LESSONS

This study presents a complex heart disease case which needed more frequent antenatal examination and restriction of physical activity. To reduce the risk of pregnancy, basic disease needed to be cured before pregnancy. Our findings could provide guidance for future clinical studies.

An adult case of polysplenia syndrome associated with sinus node dysfunction, dextrocardia, and systemic venous anomalies

A 54-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for symptomatic sinus bradyarrhythmia with a sinus pause of 8 seconds. She was diagnosed with dextrocardia during childhood and discovered to have heterotaxy syndrome when she had an appendectomy during her teenager years. Chest and abdominal examinations by computed tomography showed multiple spleens located on the right side and abnormal drainages of the superior and inferior vena cava. Left isomerism was diagnosed by bilaterally bilobed lungs. Because of a patent bilateral superior vena cava, pacemaker leads were implanted using the right cephalic vein approach. Her fainting symptoms disappeared after pacemaker implantation.

Incidental finding of complete situs inversus in a polytraumatized adult

BACKGROUND

Situs inversus is a rare abnormality typically posing a diagnostic dilemma during routine evaluation of acute abdominal emergencies such as in acute appendicitis and cholecystitis. It is rare to detect such in the setting of trauma.

OBJECTIVE

To report an incidental finding of complete situs inversus in a poly-traumatized adult.

METHODS

The clinical records of the patient including preoperative evaluation, intra-operative findings and postoperative care were reviewed.

RESULT

A 53 year old man presented with difficulty breathing, left sided chest pain, generalized abdominal pain and distension 18 hours after a vehicular road traffic accident. Examination revealed features of left sided haemothorax, absent heart sounds, generalized peritonitis and limb injuries. Plain chest radiograph confirmed left haemothorax with dextrocardia. He had a left closed thoracostomy tube drainage and exploratory laparotomy which revealed complete situs inversus of intra-abdominal organs alongside a jejunal perforation which was repaired. Postoperative recovery was uneventful.

CONCLUSION

Complete situs inversus is uncommon and may not be anticipated in evaluation of trauma patients. Preoperative clinical and radiological evaluation may however be helpful in making a pre-operative diagnosis and further management.

Catheter ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation in a patient with dextrocardia

Dextrocardia is a rare anomaly where the heart is located on the right side of the chest instead of the normal left side. Ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) with such an inverted anatomy may be challenging for the manipulation of the catheters. Here we report a case of dextrocardia who underwent ablation for persistent AF guided by image integration system.

Initial experience with the Amplatzer Vascular Plug IV in congenital heart disease: coronary artery fistula and aortopulmonary collateral artery embolization

BACKGROUND

A number of percutaneous devices are available to embolize anomalous vessels in congenital heart disease. We report our initial single-center experience with the new Amplatzer Vascular Plug IV (AVP IV) in congenital heart disease to embolize a coronary artery fistula and aortopulmonary collateral arteries in 4 cases.

METHODS

From August 2009 until April 2010, 7 AVP IV devices were deployed in 4 patients, age range 5 months to 9 years, weight 3.5-27.7 kg. One patient had a large coronary artery fistula, the others had anomalous aortopulmonary collaterals; 2 patients had tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia, with the other having dextrocardia, anomalous pulmonary venous drainage and pulmonary atresia.

RESULTS

In all 4 patients, vessels intended to be closed with the AVP IV were closed successfully with minimal residual shunting and no device failures. Deployed devices ranged from 4-8 mm in diameter. One patient had 4 devices, closing large branching infradiaphragmatic aortopulmonary collaterals. The other 3 patients had single devices. Complete vessel embolization was seen with no device embolization or implantation complication.

CONCLUSION

This preliminary experience illustrates the utility of the AVP IV in congenital heart disease, occluding a coronary artery fistula and aorto-pulmonary collaterals, with devices between 4 mm and 8 mm in diameter, demonstrating its safety and effectiveness. It is particularly useful in embolizing difficult-to-reach large, tortuous vessels with a small-sized catheter in a single procedure. Longer-term follow up in a larger cohort of patients will be required to establish long-term efficacy and device safety.

Primary angioplasty and later elective multivessel stenting in a patient with dextrocardia: a case report and literature review

Dextrocardia is a rare congenital anomaly with a prevalence of 1 in 10,000 births. The incidence of coronary artery disease in such patients is thought to be similar to that of the general public, however, patients are seldom seen during routine clinical practice and at the cardiac catheterization laboratory. Patients with this condition and acute myocardial ischemia may pose challenges at presentation, clinical and diagnostic findings and at cardiac catheterization. In this report, a male patient presenting with acute inferior myocardial infarction and three-vessel coronary artery disease was managed successfully with emergency primary angioplasty and later elective multivessel stenting. This is the first combined primary and later multivessel stenting to be reported in a single patient with dextrocardia and situs inversus. The clinical findings, details of the procedures and literature review will be discussed.

Resynchronization therapy transvenous approach in dextrocardia and congenitally corrected transposition of great arteries

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is an acknowledged treatment for advanced heart failure in acquired dilated cardiomyopathy, resistant to pharmacotherapy. Although there are no therapeutic standards regarding heart failure originating from congenital heart defects with systemic right ventricle, a number of CRT implantations by transvenous approach in congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (CCTGA) have been reported since 2001, even though none of them expressly referred to a case concomitant with dextrocardia and situs inversus anomaly. We present a 57 year-old patient with dextrocardia and CCTGA, who underwent surgical closure of interatrial and interventricular septal defects at the age of 19, and in whom a VVI pacemaker was subsequently implanted at age 36. A three-lead CRT system was implanted by transvenous approach. Imaging techniques, including multi-slice computed tomography, targeted to pacing system and unusual anatomical relationships were applied. Within a 20-month follow-up, a significant improvement of functional NYHA class, systemic right ventricle ejection fraction and exercise capability were observed. Entirely transvenous CRT system implantation is feasible in patients with dextrocardia and CCTGA, and has substantial potential for long-term benefits.

Percutaneous mitral commissurotomy in a case of mirror-image dextrocardia and rheumatic mitral stenosis

A 43-year-old male with mirror-image dextrocardia and severe rheumatic mitral stenosis was subjected to successful percutaneous transvenous mitral commissurotomy (PTMC). The standard Inoue technique was modified by transseptal catheterization via the left femoral vein, image inversion, delineation of the interatrial septal anatomy via levophase pulmonary angiography, septal contrast staining and pigtail catheter insertion in the noncoronary aortic sinus, interatrial septal puncture with the transseptal needle rotated to a 7 o'clock position and left ventricular entry with a reverse loop technique. There were no procedural complications. Intracardiac pressures and mitral valvular planimetry suggested a successful procedural outcome. This case illustrates that PTMC can be accomplished safely in patients with this unusual cardiac anatomy with a few modifications in the standard technique.

Coronary angioplasty via the radial approach in an individual with dextrocardia

We present the first published case of coronary angioplasty via the radial artery approach in an individual with situs inversus. The technical issues involved are discussed.

Electrical cardioversion of atrial fibrillation in a case of dextrocardia

Although atrial fibrillation is one of the most frequent and widespread cardiac arrhythmias, there is not sufficient data on frequency and electrical cardioversion of this arrhythmia in cases of dextrocardia. The present case report describes a 66-year-old woman with atrial fibrillation and dextrocardia who was admitted to hospital with a complaint of palpitations; no cause of the atrial fibrillation was found. Electrical cardioversion was performed for termination of the arrhythmia. By placing the anterior paddle in the right parasternal area and the lateral paddle in the area where the apex of the left ventricle palpated at the right side of the chest, cardioversion was performed and sinus rhythm was achieved.

Transjugular approach to balloon mitral valvuloplasty helps overcome impediments caused by anatomical alterations

Ten patients who had anatomic alterations that cause impediments to successful completion of conventional transfemoral balloon mitral valvuloplasty (BMV) underwent transjugular BMV. They included six patients in whom conventional BMV could not be completed due to cardiac anatomic distortion; two patients with dextrocardia (one with visceroatrial situs solitus and the other with situs inversus); two patients with venous abnormalities (one with azygous continuation of the inferior vena cava and the other with bilateral iliac/femoral vein occlusion). Transjugular BMV was successful in all 10 patients (mean mitral valve area increasing from 0.68 +/- 0.17 to 1.92 +/- 0.40 cm(2); range, 1.56-2.76 cm(2)); it was quick (mean total fluoroscopy time, 10.5 +/- 2.7 min; range, 7.3-15.2 min); and it was safe (no major or minor complications except one patient who developed severe mitral regurgitation that only required medical therapy). The jugular approach to BMV overcomes many of the technical problems caused by anatomic changes that are encountered in transfemoral BMV and complements the latter approach.

Transcatheter closure of secundum atrial septal defect in a patient with dextrocardia using the amplatzer septal occluder

Transcatheter closure of secundum atrial septal defects (ASD) in patients with levocardia is performed routinely using various investigational devices. A 6-yr-old child with dextrocardia, situs inversus, and secundum ASD measuring 13 mm by TEE underwent successful transcatheter closure using a 15 mm Amplatzer Septal Occluder with complete closure of the defect.

Coronary angioplasty in a patient with situs inversus totalis and a single coronary artery

A patient with congenital situs inversus totalis and a single coronary artery was referred for revascularization because of progressive disabling angina. Exercise thallium scintigraphy had disclosed ischaemia in the anterolateral, posterolateral, and inferior wall of the left ventricle. Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty was performed successfully for stenoses in the right coronary artery.

[Transvenous pacemaker implantation for sick sinus syndrome with mirror-image dextrocardia]

A case of sick sinus syndrome with mirror-image dextrocardia which was associated with bilateral superior vena cava and an absent inferior vena cava with azygos continuation is reported. A 45-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with the chief complaints of dizziness and palpitation. The electrocardiogram showed a atrial fibrillation with a 4-second period of asystole. A permanent endocardial bipolar demand pacemaker was inserted through the left superior vena cava. Since anomaly of venous system is commonly associated with mirror-image dextrocardia, the angiogram is necessary prior to permanent pacemaker implantation.

[Dextrocardia in situs inversus totalis with obstructive coronary disease. Its treatment by coronary angioplasty by the brachial approach]

Dextrocardia in "situs inversus totalis" with obstructive coronary disease is a rare clinical situation, with few cases treated by coronary angioplasty using the femoral approach being reported. In this report we describe the case of a 61-year-old male patient who underwent successful dilatation of two arteries by the brachial approach. We discuss technical aspects related to the procedure, which may be easily performed when proper equipment is available.