Giant Left Atrium Disguised as Right-Sided Pleural Effusion

摘要

class="kwd-title">Keywords: Echocardiogram, Rheumatic heart disease, Giant left atrium, Left atrial thrombus class="head no_bottom_margin" id="sec1title">IntroductionRheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a complication of acute rheumatic fever that results from untreated streptococcal pharyngitis infections. RHD-related morbidity and mortality have decreased significantly in developed countries in the past couple of decades because of advances in early recognition and management of acute rheumatic fever. RHD is still a significant cause of cardiovascular-related mortality in some parts of the world. One of the most common complications of RHD is chronic mitral valve disease. In some patients this leads to the dilation of the left atrium, which may go undiagnosed. Patients may experience symptoms such as cough, chest pain, and shortness of breath, which may prompt investigation with imaging. We present a case of giant left atrium (GLA) disguised as a massive pleural effusion.