Clinicopathological study of coxsackie B viral myocarditis

Autopsy cases of myocarditis caused by Coxsackie viruses in two infants, aged 5 years and 10 months and 12 years, and two adults, aged 24 years and 45 years, were presented. Of the four cases, three revealed a rise in serum neutralization titer to Cox B,4 virus and one to both Cox B2 and Cox B4 viruses. Compared with the adult cases, the 2 infant cases showed less inflammatory response with relatively prominent hypertrophy in the heart. Both of the adult cases revealed intensive inflammatory reaction. Extensive inflammatory cell infiltration remained in one of the adult cases though the case survived about 4 years after manifestation of the infection, suggesting possible involvement of immunological factors.