Parvovirus B19–Associated Active Myocarditis With Biventricular Thrombi Results of Endomyocardial Biopsy Investigations and Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

A previously healthy 39-year-old man was admitted to our department with biventricular cardiac decompensation (New York Heart Association class IV) and acute onset of angina pectoris after a flulike disease 1 week earlier. The ECG on admission displayed ST elevations in II, III, and aVF. Troponin T on admission was increased (2.20 mg/L, normal value<0.03 mg/L), with increased creatine phosphokinase (503 U/L; normal value<171 U/L) and creatine phosphokinase myocardial band (45 U/L; normal value=10 U/L). N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide was highly elevated (15,848 pg/mL; normal value<125 pg/mL). Coronary artery disease was excluded by coronary angiography. Multiple nonsustained ventricular tachycardias were recorded by Holter monitoring and telemetry. Endomyocardial biopsies obtained from the right ventricular septum demonstrated active myocarditis by histological investigations according to the Dallas criteria (Figure 1A). By immunohistological staining of endomyocardial biopsies1 and quantification using digital image analysis, highly increased focal lymphocytic (CD3+: 267.4/mm2, CD11a/LFA-1+: 498.9/mm2; Figure 1B) and macrophage infiltrates (CD11b/Mac-1+: 481.6/mm2), sarcolemmal human leukocyte antigen class I expression (area fraction of human leukocyte antigen class I=35.6%; Figure 1C), and focal abundance …