Subacute pericardial abscess after aortic valve replacement: a case report

Figures

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  Fig. 1. Thoracic computed tomography and 18 F-labeled 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomographic/computer tomography imaging. In the upper series of figures, thoracic computed tomography scan sections acquired in February 2018 (a), April 2018 (b) and October 2018 (c), respectively, are shown. (a) Severe loculated pericardial effusion localized to the lateral wall of the left ventricle (51 mm) and bilateral pleural effusion. (b) Paracardiac egg-shaped fluid collection (38 × 27 mm) with peripheric hypercaptation of the tracer. (c) Mild diffuse postero-lateral pericardial effusion (maximal thickness: 11 mm). No evidence of persistence of localized fluid collection. In the lower series, 18 F-labeled 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomographic/computer tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) sections acquired in February 2018 (d), April 2018 (e) and April 2019 (f) are presented. d Pathological hypercaptation at the walls of the pericardial effusion (SUV max = 11). e In comparison with previous 18F-FDG PET/CT, the area of tracer hypercaptation in left paracardiac position is reduced in dimension, but stable in intensity (SUV max = 9.6). d Normalization of the area of metabolic…

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  Fig. 2. Histological and immunohistochemical analysis. In a there is evidence of chronic inflammation with fibrosis, mesothelial hyperplasia and mixed cellular infiltrate rich in macrophages, neutrophils, eosinophils and plasma cells. b shows the immunohistochemical analysis for Calretinin that highlights mesothelial cells and their hyperplasia. c we can observed the immunohistochemical analysis for CD 68, a specific surface marker of macrophages