Acute myocarditis

Myocarditis is defined as inflammation of the myocardium accompanied by myo cellular necrosis. Acute myocarditis must be considered in patients who pre sent with recent onset of cardiac failure or arrhythmia. Often there is a h istory of an antecedent flu-like illness. Fulminant myocarditis is a distin ct entity characterized by sudden onset of severe congestive heart failure or cardiogenic shock, usually following a flu-like illness. Giant cell myoc arditis is a rare, frequently fatal disorder of unknown origin characterize d by presence of giant cell inflammatory infiltrate in the myocardium. In r ecent years we have made good progress in understanding the causes, pathoge nesis, natural history, diagnosis, and treatment of myocarditis. However, o ur knowledge is still far from complete. New information that extends our u nderstanding of myocarditis is being reported constantly. This review summa rizes recent advances in myocarditis, with an emphasis on the literature du ring the last year. Curr Opin Pediatr 2001, 13:234-239 (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.