Fatal parvoviral myocarditis: A case report and review of literature
Histologically documented cases of parvoviral myocarditis are exceedingly rare. Case presentationHere, we report a 41-year old African American immunocompetent patient who died of parvoviral myocarditis after a 10 day illness characterized by fever, headaches, generalized arthralgias, and a maculopapular rash.
Autopsy revealed an infiltrate myocarditis composed primarily of T-lymphocytes and macrophages associated with extensive myocardial fibrosis. The diagnosis of parvovirus was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on both pre-mortem serum and post-mortem myocardial tissue
Methods: DNA was extracted from tissue and serum and primers were used to amplify DNA sequences of parvovirus B19 using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Conclusion: The diagnosis of parvovirus should be considered in cases of fatal myocarditis, and diagnosis can be confirmed at autopsy by molecular techniques.
Author: Fabio Tavora, Luis F Gonzalez-Cuyar, Jay S Dalal, Michael T O'Malley, Richard Zhao, Hong Q Peng and Allen P Burke Credits/Source: Diagnostic Pathology 2008, 3:21
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