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Published on: June 20, 2014
A case of chronic myocarditis
Hiroaki Kawano1, Keita Iyama1, Kuniko Abe2
1Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan.
Insights
Diagnosing chronic myocarditis can be challenging. Endomyocardial biopsy, especially with immunohistochemistry, is crucial for accurate pathological diagnosis and differentiating it from inflammatory cardiomyopathy.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Pathology
Background:
- Chronic myocarditis presents diagnostic challenges with conventional clinical modalities.
- Distinguishing between chronic myocarditis and inflammatory dilated cardiomyopathy can be difficult.
Observation:
- A 43-year-old man presented with heart failure and a hypokinetic left ventricle.
- Standard diagnostics including FDG-PET/CT and coronary angiography were inconclusive.
- Endomyocardial biopsy revealed diffuse inflammatory cell infiltration, myocyte damage, and fibrosis.
Findings:
- Immunohistochemical staining of the biopsy specimen showed a predominance of T lymphocytes and macrophages over B cells.
- The pathological findings were critical in differentiating chronic myocarditis from inflammatory dilated cardiomyopathy.
Implications:
- Endomyocardial biopsy is a highly valuable diagnostic tool for chronic myocarditis.
- Immunohistochemistry is essential for precise pathological diagnosis in challenging cases.
- Accurate diagnosis impacts patient management and treatment strategies for heart conditions.
Abstract:
Chronic myocarditis is sometimes difficult to diagnose using several clinical diagnostic modalities. A 43-year-old Japanese man was admitted to our hospital with heart failure due to a diffusely hypokinetic left ventricle. No abnormal accumulation was seen on 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography. Coronary angiography showed no abnormalities. Endomyocardial biopsy was performed on suspicion of dilated cardiomyopathy, revealing diffuse cell infiltration (more T lymphocytes associated with macrophages than B cells on immunohistochemical staining), myocyte damage, and replacement fibrosis. The pathological diagnosis of biopsy specimen was difficult to differentiate between chronic myocarditis and inflammatory dilated cardiomyopathy without immunohistochemistry. Endomyocardial biopsy offers one of the most useful methods for diagnosing chronic myocarditis.
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