[Spontaneous echocontrastography. Analysis of 50 cases, review of the literature and a proposal for its classification].

Spontaneous echocontrastographic effect (SEE) is sometimes detected in cardiac chambers. In order to propose a classification of the phenomenon we reviewed our series of 50 patients with SEE. We detected three type of SEE: type I, II, III. Type I was characterized by the presence of low amplitude echoes with slow and irregular motion in a cardiac chamber, in some cases the cloud of echoes had not defined borders (type IA), in other cases the cloud had well defined borders and was attached to a mural thrombus (type IB). Type II was characterized by the presence of echoes moving quickly across the mitral valve toward the left ventricle apex. Lastly, type III was characterized by the presence of microbubbles slowly and chaotically moving in right cardiac chambers. Type I SEE was detected only in patients with clinical conditions (mitral stenosis, congestive cardiomyopathies) characterized by slow intracardiac flow; type II was detected in 3 patients with mitral prosthesis, in 3 with constrictive pericarditis and 1 with severe aortic insufficiency. Lastly, type III was detected in 5 patients with tricuspid insufficiency.