Key result
CMR reveals multiple metastases in a misdiagnosed endocarditis patient, averting unnecessary surgery.
Why the study?
Cardiac metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue is rare.
Case Report (n=1)
Cardiac MRI is a valuable tool for evaluating suspected endocarditis in patients with head and neck tumors to identify rare cardiac metastases and guide appropriate management.
Cardiac MRI may avert surgery in endocarditis mimics with malignancy; leaves open its routine use in head and neck tumors.
Cardiac metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the tongue is rare. This report presents a known case of SCC of the tongue in a patient who was admitted with an initial diagnosis of pneumonia and endocarditis and had received wide spectrum antibiotics. Due to the lack of an appropriate response, surgical valve replacement was initially considered, but further evaluation by cardiac MRI revealed multiple cardiac, lung and paravertebral metastases, most probably from the previous SCC and as such the patient was managed conservatively. This case report highlights the importance of cardiac MRI for evaluating head and neck tumors and choosing optimal treatment plans.
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Mirhosseini et al. (2023) conducted a case report in Cardiac metastasis from squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue (n=1). Cardiac MRI was evaluated on Diagnosis of cardiac metastasis. Cardiac MRI revealed multiple cardiac, lung, and paravertebral metastases in a patient initially misdiagnosed with endocarditis, leading to conservative management instead of surgery.
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