Left atrial mass in a patient with mitral stenosis and atrial fibrillation-thrombus or myxoma?

Abstract

Background. Hydatid cyst, also called hydatidosis, is caused by Echinococcus granulosus. It is still a major health problem in many parts of the world with 2-3 million cases confirmed each year. Most of these cases involve liver (50-70%) and lungs (20-30%), but some of them have rare locations, such as skeletal muscles (0.7-5%). The absence of specific clinical signs and symptoms makes it difficult to establish a diagnosis, while first signs may appear as neurovascular lesions due to compression. The most useful method of diagnosis is ultrasound with high sensitivity (93-98%), followed by CT and MRI. There are two types of treatment: open surgery and percutaneous drainage, both associated with Albendazole and Mebendazole or Albendazole and Praziquantel administration.