[Cardiac hydatid cyst. Two cases in children].

INTRODUCTION: Diagnosis of a cardiac hydatid cyst is difficult because of the absence of specific clinical signs. This is a rare disease in adults, but even rarer in children. OBSERVATIONS: In a 12 year-old girl, operated on for a pulmonary hyatid cyst 4 years earlier, respiratory distress appeared. This was caused by right heart failure secondary to a chronic hyatid post-embolus pulmonary heart. In a 13 year-old boy exhibiting pulmonary hydatosis (first clinical signs 3 years earlier) echocardiography revealed a multi-compartmented cystic image of the anterior wall of the left atrium, with another similar image in the anterior section of the pulmonary infundibulum. DISCUSSION: These observations illustrate the potential gravity of complications of a hydatid cyst, endemic parasitosis in North Africa (metastatic pulmonary echinococcosis and chronic pulmonary heart). Imaging is crucial for the early diagnosis, assessment of the lesions and follow-up after treatment.