Intracardiac Masses: Epidemiological, Clinical, Therapeutic and Evolutionary Aspects in the Cardiology Department of Yalgado Ouédraogo Teaching Hospital

Context: Intracardiac masses (ICMs) are detected during the exploration of cardiovascular pathologies or discovered incidentally. They include intracardiac thrombi, cardiac tumors and valvular vegetations. Method: This was a descriptive study retrospectively collected within the cardiology department from January 1, 2011 to March 31, 2013. All the patients diagnosed and hospitalized for intracardiac masses and followed-up for at least three months were included in the study. Outcomes: Among the 1066 patients admitted in the period of study, 80 patients had intracardiac masses, corresponding to a hospital frequency of 7.5%. The average age was 48.4 ± 17.4 years. ICM was detected during a thromboembolic complication in 18 cases (22.5%) and during a cardiological check-up for heart disease in 62 cases (77.5%). Thromboembolic complications were dominated by strokes in 55.6% of cases. Cardiology check-up was done because of exertional dyspnea (62 patients) in 77.5% of cases. Among these intracardiac masses (ICMs), intracardiac thrombosis (ICT) was observed in 41 cases (50.6%), followed by intracardiac vegetations in 32 cases (39.5%). The curative treatment of intracardiac masses consisted of anticoagulants in 65% of cases, antibiotics in 58.8% of cases and instrumental treatments in 1.3% of cases. We didn’t use cardiac surgery as a therapeutic means in our study. Twenty patients (25%) died during hospitalization, six of whom (30%) died as a result of thromboembolic complications. Conclusion: Intracardiac masses visualized on ultrasound are most often due to thrombi, vegetations or myxomas. In our study, intracardiac thrombosis was the most common masses, accounting for 50.6% of cases.