Myocarditis in a Pediatric Patient with Campylobacter Enteritis: A Case Report and Literature Review

Abstract

Myocarditis represents a potential complication of various infectious and noninfectious agents and a common diagnostic challenge for clinicians. Data regarding Campylobacter-associated myocarditis are limited. Here, a case of a 13-year-old female with Campylobacter jejuni gastroenteritis complicated by myocarditis is presented, followed by a literature review in order to retrieve information about Campylobacter-associated carditis in the pediatric population. A search on MEDLINE/PubMed yielded 7relevant cases in the last 20 years. Most of them (six/seven) were males and the mean age was 16.1 years. All patients presented with gastrointestinal symptoms followed in six/seven cases by chest pain within two to seven days. Campylobacter was isolated from stool cultures in six patients; abnormal electrocardiographic findings were detected in six; and abnormal echocardiographic findings in three of the cases. Five patients were treated with antibiotics. Full recovery was the clinical outcome in six patients, whereas one patient died. Concerning the nonspecific symptoms of patients with myocarditis, high clinical suspicion of this complication is necessary in cases where patients with a recent infection present with chest pain and elevated cardiac biomarkers.

Infection Prevention and Control: Practical and Educational Advances

“…Cardiac symptoms are not an uncommon manifestation in Chikungunya infection and may have high mortality rates, as evidenced by an extensive literature review by Traverse et al [ 13 ]. Finally, two studies reported interesting cases and reviewed the literature on severe odontogenic infections during pregnancy [ 14 ] and Campylobacter myocarditis [ 15 ].…”

Campylobacter jejuni virulence factors: update on emerging issues and trends

“…However, cases of invasive disease such as bacteraemia [ 2 ] have also been attributed to C. jejuni infection. In addition, C. jejuni gastroenteritis (campylobacteriosis) has been associated with myocarditis [ 3 ], as well as with many long-term sequalae, including dysbiosis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). C. jejuni gastroenteritis is a zoonotic disease: C. jejuni is transmitted to humans from animals, primarily chickens, where C. jejuni is part of normal intestinal microbiota, but can also be transmitted from cattle, pigs, sheep and, as the more recent evidence suggests, domestic cats and dogs [ 4 ].…”