Iatrogenic cardiac perforation due to pacing lead displacement: Imaging findings

Eosinophilic fasciitis (Shulman syndrome), a rare entity and diagnostic challenge, as a manifestation of severe chronic graft-versus-host disease: a case report

Background

Shulman’s disease, or eosinophilic fasciitis (EF), is a rare autoimmune disease, characterized by sclerodermic skin lesions with progressive induration and thickening of the soft tissues. Chronic graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) presenting as EF is a very rare manifestation of cutaneous GVHD.

Case presentation

We report an unusual case of EF in a 46-year-old Caucasian male patient who had received an allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the context of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. The diagnosis was challenging, with the patient presenting hepatic dysfunction, normal eosinophils count, and incomplete clinical signs. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and skin biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of EF. Early initiation of specific treatment with corticosteroids and prednisolone achieved complete response.

Conclusion

In practice, incomplete signs in this rare complication should lead to MRI as it is a major tool to guide decision-making based on the skin biopsy, allowing a rapid diagnosis and the initiation of treatment without delay.

Right Ventricular Perforation Presenting as Tingling of the Left Breast

Pacemaker lead-associated cardiac perforation is a rare phenomenon. Lead perforations can be acute, subacute, or chronic following lead placement. Symptoms are typically nonspecific and depend on the location of the displaced lead. Diagnostic workup requires interrogation of the pacemaker and imaging studies. Management of lead displacement is dependent on multiple risk factors such as age, gender, corticosteroid use, and anticoagulation therapy.

A 74-year-old female with a history of myosin light chain kinase (MYLK) 2 hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, Sjogren’s syndrome, Raynaud’s disease, and sick sinus syndrome was evaluated for an abnormal finding on pacemaker interrogation. The patient’s only symptom was tingling of her left breast. Imaging studies confirmed pacemaker lead perforation. Right ventricle perforation due to a pacemaker lead displacement can cause severe complications. Early identification and treatment by physicians can reduce the risk of mortality.

Assessment of Cardiac Lead Perforation: Comparison Among Chest Radiography, Transthoracic Echocardiography and Electrocardiography-gated Contrast-enhanced Cardiac CT

OBJECTIVES

Cardiac lead perforation is a rare but potentially life-threatening event. The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic performances of chest radiography, transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and electrocardiography (ECG)-gated contrast-enhanced cardiac CT in the assessment of cardiac lead perforation.

METHODS

This retrospective study was approved by the ethics review board of Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital at Sun Yat-Sen University (Guangzhou, China), and the need to obtain informed consent was waived. Between May 2010 and Oct 2017, 52 patients were clinically suspected to have a cardiac lead perforation and received chest radiography, TTE and ECG-gated contrast-enhanced cardiac CT. Among them, 13 patients were identified as having cardiac lead perforation. The diagnostic performances of these three modalities were evaluated by receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves using a composite reference standard of surgical and electrophysiological results and clinical follow-up. The areas under ROCs (AUROCs) were compared with the McNemar test.

RESULTS

The accuracies of chest radiography, TTE and ECG-gated contrast-enhanced cardiac CT imaging for the diagnosis of cardiac lead perforation were 73.1%, 82.7% and 98.1%, respectively. ECG-gated contrast-enhanced cardiac CT had a higher AUROC than chest radiography (p < 0.001) and TTE (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

ECG-gated contrast-enhanced cardiac CT is superior to both chest radiography and TTE imaging for the assessment of cardiac lead perforation.

KEY POINTS

• ECG-gated contrast-enhanced cardiac CT has an accuracy of 98.1% in the diagnosis of cardiac lead perforation. • The AUROC of ECG-gated contrast-enhanced cardiac CT is higher than those of chest radiography and TTE imaging. • ECG-gated contrast-enhanced cardiac CT imaging has better diagnostic performance than both chest radiography and TTE imaging for the assessment of cardiac lead perforation.

Identification and management of right ventricular perforation using pacemaker and cardioverter-defibrillator leads: A case series and mini review

Right ventricular perforation is a rare but serious complication of permanent pacemaker and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation, with a reported prevalence rate of 0.1–6%. Generally, there is a high incidence of asymptomatic lead perforation with otherwise normal function. Some patients present with a stabbing chest pain and shortness of breath or pacemaker malfunction. However, in some cases, tamponade or adjacent tissue injury may be seen. The exact risk factors for lead perforation are not yet clear. Furthermore, there are many controversies in the management of lead perforation. Extraction of an asymptomatic, incidentally detected, chronically perforating lead does not seem to be necessary. Patients with symptoms or device malfunction will require treatment appropriate for their problem.