Journal of clinical ultrasound : JCU
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Hip joint effusion is expected in rapidly destructive osteoarthritis, a diagnosis often only made retrospectively at the end stage of the disease. This study assesses whether the presence of an effusion identified during routine ultrasound-guided hip injection may suggest a more aggressive process such as rapidly destructive osteoarthritis. ⋯ Large joint effusions identified sonographically correlate well with radiographic findings of rapidly destructive osteoarthritis. Given rapid onset and severity of the disease, when a large joint effusion is identified on routine hip intervention, patients should be forewarned of the potential for this disease process.
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A free-floating thrombus in the left atrium is very rare in mitral stenosis. Such a thrombus can lead to sudden circulatory arrest and syncope or can cause severe cerebral or peripheral thromboembolic events. Clinical diagnosis is difficult, but left atrial thrombus should be suspected if patients with mitral stenosis and atrial fibrillation have intermittent or changing murmurs, emboli, or syncope. We describe the case of a patient with mild mitral stenosis under warfarin therapy, and a left atrial pedunculated thrombus discovered during the investigation for syncope attacks.