Cardiac Involvement in Monkeypox Outbreak

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Cardiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Unusual presentations of Monkeypox (Mpox) necessitate focus on cardiac involvement.
• Limited data exists on cardiac manifestations in recent Mpox outbreaks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review on cardiac manifestations of Mpox.
• To provide an overview of current literature on Mpox-related cardiac symptoms.

Main Methods:

• A six-stage methodological approach and PRISMA-ScR guidelines were used.
• Searches were conducted in PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar.
• Nine articles (3 case series, 6 case reports; 13 patients) were included after screening 707 records.

Main Results:

• Myocarditis was the most frequent cardiac manifestation reported.
• Chest pain was the primary cardiac symptom; elevated troponin and C-reactive protein were common findings.
• Novel clinical presentations included pharyngitis, sore throat, proctalgia, and perianal irritation.

Conclusions:

• There is a significant lack of high-quality studies on cardiac involvement in Mpox.
• Further research is crucial to understand risk factors, disease progression, and cardio tropism.
• Increased awareness of cardiac symptoms is needed for the current Mpox outbreak.