Scarsini Roberto, Prioli Maria A, Milano Elena G, Benetti Valentina, Rebonato Micol, Puppini Giovanni, Alessandrini Franco, Vassanelli Corrado
aSection of Cardiology, Department of Medicine bSection of Radiology cSection of Neuroradiology, Department of Pathology and Diagnostics, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown). 2016 Dec;17 Suppl 2:e225-e227. doi: 10.2459/JCM.0000000000000127.
: We report the case of a 56-year-old male patient affected by a severe form of Ebstein's anomaly (type C of Carpentier classification) with secundum atrial septal defect, who presented to the emergency department with impaired consciousness, seizures, and trismus. The brain computed tomography scan showed evidence of a mass located in the frontal lobe, confirmed by brain MRI consistent with brain abscess. Both echocardiography and cardiac MRI showed no evidence of valvular vegetation. This case shows how the combination of increased atrial pressure and bidirectional shunt through atrial septal defect may lead to paradoxical embolization.