Mediastinal Tumor Presenting as a Cardiac Halo on Equilibrium Radionuclide Angiography A Differential Diagnosis to Pericardial Effusion

A 52-year-old man with metastatic liposarcoma underwent equilibrium radionuclide angiography before commencing chemotherapy. Biventricular systolic function was normal, but an enlarged photon deficient area (cardiac halo) was seen surrounding the cardiac blood pool. Correlation with computed tomogra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical nuclear medicine 1996-04, Vol.21 (4), p.334-335
Main Authors: BETTER, NATHAN, JANICEK, MILOS J, ANNESE, MARILYN L, KAPLAN, WILLIAM D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Cardiovascular system
Diagnosis, Differential
Gated Blood-Pool Imaging
Humans
Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects)
Liposarcoma - diagnostic imaging
Liposarcoma - secondary
Male
Mediastinal Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging
Mediastinal Neoplasms - secondary
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Pericardial Effusion - diagnostic imaging
Radionuclide investigations
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Summary:A 52-year-old man with metastatic liposarcoma underwent equilibrium radionuclide angiography before commencing chemotherapy. Biventricular systolic function was normal, but an enlarged photon deficient area (cardiac halo) was seen surrounding the cardiac blood pool. Correlation with computed tomography was sought to exclude the possibility of a pericardial effusion, but a large mediastinal tumor was seen in the absence of a pericardial effusion. Literature review suggests alternative causes of a cardiac halo as clotted blood, particularly seen after cardiac surgery, ventricular hypertrophy, or subepicardial fat. The authors conclude that the presence of a cardiac halo, particularly within an oncologic population, can represent mediastinal tumor as an alternative to pericardial effusion. This possibility should be strongly considered in the analytical process.
ISSN:0363-9762
1536-0229
DOI:10.1097/00003072-199604000-00023