Myocarditis Associated With Campylobacter Enteritis: Report of Three Cases

A case of Acute Myocarditis from Campylobacter Jejuni Enterocolitis

“…The majority of cases include a subtle history of abdominal pain and diarrhea that progressively worsens. Chest pain and shortness of breath follow in most cases of myocarditis 5,6 . We present a case of CAM mimicking acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and treated successfully with antibiotic and supportive care.…”

“…Acute myocarditis results from inflammation of the heart muscle mostly due to a viral infection or idiopathic cause. [1][2][3][4][5] Commonly responsible viruses include adenovirus, coxsackievirus, HCV, HIV, and parvovirus B19 6,7 . CAM is an extremely rare, but significant, complication of CEC with very small number of cases reported 8 .…”

“…Presenting symptoms of myocarditis have a wide spectrum from non-specific ones like fever, exertional dyspnea, and palpitations to severe like acute heart failure and sudden cardiac death 2,6 . Our patient presented with ACS-like symptoms after few days of diarrhea.…”

“…There have been eleven reported incidents of CAM [5][6][7][8][9] and eight cases of C. Jejuni-associated myopericarditis (CAMP) 3,4 . One case of atrial fibrillation was associated with CEC 5 .…”

“…Although C. Jejuni produces several exotoxins with hemolytic, hepatotoxic, and cytotoxic effects, none are known to be toxic to the heart. Guillian-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a well established immunological process involving molecular mimicry between C. Jejuni polysaccharide and ganglia and maturing few weeks after infection 5,6,10 . In most reported cases of CAM, including ours, the gastrointestinal and cardiac symptoms overlapped, making an immunological etiology similar to GBS unlikely 3,4 .…”