Papillary fibroelastoma: report of seven cases.

The papillary fibroelastoma (PFE) is a benign heart tumor, mainly found in the valves. Most tumors are asymptomatic, but when present, they are nonspecific or related to embolic phenomena. They are usually diagnosed at routine imaging studies or valve surgery and autopsies.

Vasculitides and eosinophils in endomyocardial biopsies as rejection predictors in heart transplantation.

Background: The clinical significance of vasculitides, ischemic lesions, Quilty effect and the presence of eosinophils in endomyocardial biopsies of heart transplantation recipients with mild rejection has yet to be established.

Objective: To verify whether these histological findings observed in endomyocardial biopsies (eosinophils, vasculitides, Quilty effect and ischemic lesions) are capable of predicting acute graft rejection.

Methods: A total of 1,012 consecutive endomyocardial biopsies were reevaluated; of these, 939 were classified as OR or 1R according to the Nomenclature of the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation of 2005 and divided in two groups: (1) Predictive biopsies: those that preceded acute rejection; and (2) Nonpredictive biopsies: those that did not precede acute rejection.