IMAGES IN THORAX

MRI features of pleural endometriosis after catamenial haemothorax

Giulia Picozzi¹, Davide Beccani¹, Florio Innocenti², Michela Grazzini², Mario Mascalchi³

¹ Radiodiagnostic Section, Department of Clinical Physiopathology University of Florence, Italy
² Respiratory Unit, Pistoia Hospital, Pistoia, Italy
³ Radiodiagnostic Section, Department of Clinical Physiopathology University of Florence, Italy

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Professor Mario Mascalchi
Radiodiagnostic Section, Department of Clinical Physiopathology, University of Florence, Viale Morgagni 50134, Florence, Italy; m.mascalchi@dfc.unifi.it

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Pleural endometriosis typically presents in young women within 72 h of onset of menstruation as cata-menial pneumothorax, haemothorax or both. A 43-year-old multiparous woman with a history of pelvic endometriosis and myocardial infarction presented with acute onset of right hemithorax pain and dyspnoea coinciding with dysmenorrhoeic menstruation. A non-contrast enhanced chest CT scan (fig 1) showed a right haemopneumothorax with floating clots within the fluid, which was drained. A video-assisted thoracoscopy (VATS) guided random pleural biopsy sample was negative. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the chest coinciding with menses 4 months later showed an oval-shaped lesion with homogeneous high signal intensity in T1- and T2-weighted images in the right posterior costodiaphragmatic recess (fig 2A, B). Owing to the relative contraindication for hormone therapy related to the coronary artery disease, the patient underwent a hysterectomy and oophorectomy for treatment of endometriosis. Six months later she was free of thoracic . . . [Full text of this article]

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