Recurrent hydatid cyst: ultrasound detection of an unusual cardiac embolic source

A 51-year-old Moroccan woman with a sudden onset of perioral numbness and right-hand paresthesia was referred to our Emergency Department (ER). Brain MRI revealed altered signal areas in the left parietal-temporal lobe, suggesting cerebral embolization. She had a known diagnosis of cardiac echinococcosis (CE) and in 1991 she underwent median sternotomy to remove multiple hydatid cysts localized in the interventricular septum and in the right inferior pulmonary lobe. Echocardiography was performed to rule out a cardiac source of embolization. It showed a unilocular cystic lesion in the interventricular septum, with uniform anechoic content and detachment of the …