N-ACETYLCYSTEINE INFUSION IN VIRAL MYOCARDITIS - A CASE-REPORT

N-acetylcysteine improves survival in established acute liver failure following paracetamol overdose by reducing the incidence of multiorgan failure. These benefits are thought to be related to decreased tissue hypoxia by the enhancement of both oxygen delivery and oxygen extract ion. Similar findings have been recorded in critically ill patients fr om an alternative aetiology. The cardiovascular properties of N-acetyl cysteine are to increase stroke volume index, and thus cardiac output, although there is no effect on cardiac output in normal subjects. N-a cetylcysteine is known to improve myocardial contraction in a hamster model of chronic myocardial ischaemia, but such effects have not previ ously been described in humans. We report the beneficial circulatory e ffect of N-acetylcysteine in a patient with marked left ventricular dy sfunction secondary to acute viral myocarditis. (C) 1997 Elsevier Scie nce Ireland Ltd.