Giant cell myocarditis presenting with acute heart failure

Fatal Enterovirus-related Myocarditis in a Patient with Devic's Syndrome Treated with Rituximab

Enteroviruses are a frequent source of infection and among the most common central nervous system viral pathogens. Enteroviruses – in particular, the Coxsackie B viruses – are a known cause of myocarditis. Rituximab is a genetically engineered chimeric anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody. Many reports in the literature suggest a higher risk of infection following repeated rituximab therapy, including viral infection. However, observations of enterovirus-related myocarditis in the context of rituximab treatment are scarce. The authors describe the case of a patient with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder who developed severe and fatal enterovirus-related myocarditis after rituximab therapy with a difficult differential diagnosis of autoimmune or giant-cell myocarditis. This case highlights the importance of complete diagnostic workup in difficult cases of myocarditis, including endomyocardial biopsies.

Fulminant myocarditis: a comprehensive review from etiology to treatments and outcomes

Fulminant myocarditis (FM) is characterized by a rapid progressive decline in cardiac function and a high mortality rate. Since the first report of FM patients in the 1980s, several clinical trials and research studies have been published increasing our knowledge regarding FM. Currently, the diagnosis of FM depends on various techniques including electrocardiography, echocardiography, endomyocardial biopsy, and cardiac magnetic resonance. The development of mechanical circulation support (MCS) devices and progress in our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying FM, treatment regimens have evolved from simple symptomatic treatment to a life support-based comprehensive treatment approach. The core mechanism underlying the development of FM is the occurrence of an inflammatory cytokine storm. This review provides a comprehensive account of the current understanding of FM pathophysiology and knowledge regarding its etiology, pathophysiology, treatments, and outcomes.

Evaluation of Myocardial Gene Expression Profiling for Superior Diagnosis of Idiopathic Giant-Cell Myocarditis and Clinical Feasibility in a Large Cohort of Patients with Acute Cardiac Decompensation

Aims: The diagnostic approach to idiopathic giant-cell myocarditis (IGCM) is based on identifying various patterns of inflammatory cell infiltration and multinucleated giant cells (GCs) in histologic sections taken from endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs). The sampling error for detecting focally located GCs by histopathology is high, however. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of gene profiling as a new diagnostic method in clinical practice, namely in a large cohort of patients suffering from acute cardiac decompensation. Methods and Results: In this retrospective multicenter study, EMBs taken from n = 427 patients with clinically acute cardiac decompensation and suspected acute myocarditis were screened (mean age: 47.03 ± 15.69 years). In each patient, the EMBs were analyzed on the basis of histology, immunohistology, molecular virology, and gene-expression profiling. Out of the total of n = 427 patient samples examined, GCs could be detected in 26 cases (6.1%) by histology. An established myocardial gene profile consisting of 27 genes was revealed; this was narrowed down to a specified profile of five genes (CPT1, CCL20, CCR5, CCR6, TLR8) which serve to identify histologically proven IGCM with high specificity in 25 of the 26 patients (96.2%). Once this newly established profiling approach was applied to the remaining patient samples, an additional n = 31 patients (7.3%) could be identified as having IGCM without any histologic proof of myocardial GCs. In a subgroup analysis, patients diagnosed with IGCM using this gene profiling respond in a similar fashion to immunosuppressive therapy as patients diagnosed with IGCM by conventional histology alone. Conclusions: Myocardial gene-expression profiling is a promising new method in clinical practice, one which can predict IGCM even in the absence of any direct histologic proof of GCs in EMB sections. Gene profiling is of great clinical relevance in terms of (a) overcoming the sampling error associated with purely histologic examinations and (b) monitoring the effectiveness of therapy.