Idiopathic giant cell myocarditis in a newborn: case report

Abstract

Özdemir-Kara D, Pehlivan S, Türkkan D, Alkan-Alkurt H, Akduman B,Karapirli M. Idiopathic giant cell myocarditis in a newborn. Turk J Pediatr2016; 58: 429-431.Idiopathic giant cell myocarditis (IGCM) is a rare cause of arrhythmia, heartfailure and death in children. The etiology of IGCM is unknown. Endomyocardialbiopsy and histological examination are essential for diagnosis. In our case,a one-month-old baby boy with no prior medical history died during breastfeeding.The gross autopsy and drug screen failed to disclose a cause of death.Hemotoxylen Eosin (H&E) stained cardiac tissue slides showed widespreadand multifocal necrosis accompanied by mixed inflammatory infiltrate. Admixedwith the infiltrate were fibroblastic proliferation and multinucleated giant cellsin the absence of sarcoid like granuloma. Although myocarditis is usuallythought to be a disease of older children, infants can also be affected. Thisentity can be the cause of some cases of sudden unexpected death in infancy.