Background— The clinical significance of pericardial biopsy is controversial. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and diagnostic value of 3 approaches to pericardial biopsy: fluoroscopic control and standard sampling, pericardioscopy guidance with standard sampling, and pericardioscopy guidance with extensive sampling. Methods and Results— Forty-nine subsequent patients with a large pericardial effusion underwent parietal pericardial biopsy. In group 1 (12 patients, 66.7% males, age 46.7±12.2 years), pericardial biopsy was guided by fluoroscopy (3 to 6 samples per patient). Group 2 included 22 patients (50% males, age 50.8±10.4 years) undergoing 4 to 6 pericardial biopsies per patient guided by pericardioscopy (16F flexible endoscope). In group 3, extensive pericardial sampling was performed, guided by pericardioscopy (15 patients, 53.3% males, age 53.7±12.8 years, 18 to 20 samples per patient). Sampling efficiency was better with pericardioscopy (group 2, 84.9%; group 3, 84.2%) compared with fluoroscopic guidance (group 1, 43.7%; P <0.01). Diagnostic value was defined as a new diagnosis uncovered, etiology revealed, clinical diagnosis confirmed, and the biopsy false-negative. Pericardial biopsy in group 3 had higher diagnostic value than in group 1 in revealing new diagnosis (40% versus 8.3%, P <0.05) and etiology (53.3% versus 8.3%, P <0.05). In group 2, pericardial biopsy had a higher yield in establishing etiology than in group 1 (40.9% versus 8.3%; P <0.05). Pericardial biopsy was false-negative in 58.3% in group 1 in contrast to 6.7% in group 3 ( P <0.01). There were no major complications. Conclusions— Pericardioscopic guidance enhanced pericardial sampling efficiency. The diagnostic value of pericardial biopsy was significantly improved by extensive sampling made possible by pericardioscopy.

Metastatic tumors of the heart are rather rare, and rarely clinically symptomatic, and, thus, rarely diagnosed during life. The methods of choice for the diagnosis of the metastasis in the heart are echocardiography, computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, cytological analysis of the pericardial effusion and biopsy. The treatment includes surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Five hundred and fifty Wistar rats were investigated to determine the frequency of secondary intestinal perforations after exposure to nonperforating blasts and the evolution of the morphological changes from hematoma through to necrosis and gangrene. The animals were observed at different times for a period of 14 days from the moment that the injury was inflicted. Microscopic findings showed that alterations began in the mucosal layer where they were most extensive, then spread to the submucosal layer, muscular layer, and serosal layer, respectively. Examination of the intestinal wall revealed an evolution of the injury from hematoma to necrosis to gangrene, resulting in secondary intestinal perforation. The secondary wounds had centrifugal patterns, opposite those of the original wound pathways. Based on these observations, the mechanism of evolution of primary nonperforating intestinal blast injury into secondary intestinal perforations is presented.

The only diagnostic difficulty in cardiac myxoma is due to its asymptomatic and oligosymptomatic presence within the longer period of time, namely, its growth period. Echocardiography should be the standard method of cardiologic examination of these patients, which could considerably contribute to early diagnosis and treatment of heart myxoma. Surgical extirpation of myxoma is the only and very successful therapeutic method.

Our findings speak that myocardial regeneration is maybe possible and develops in human ischemic heart damages and that the myocardium is not a static organ without capacity of cell regeneration.