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Department of
Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Juntendo Urayasu Hospital,
Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1, Tomioka, Urayasu-shi,
Chiba 279-0002, Japan
Correspondence to: Dr Arima.
Accepted for publication 2
November 1998
A case of eosinophilic myocarditis following high serum levels
of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) is described. A 27 year old woman
was admitted with New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III
congestive heart failure. A haematological study showed hypereosinophilia with degranulation and vacuoles; the total eosinophil count was 7980/ml and the ECP serum concentration was noticeably high
at 150 ng/ml. Endomyocardial biopsy from the right ventricle showed
infiltration of eosinophils and dense deposits of ECP in the
endocardium as well as the myocardium. Steroid treatment returned the
total eosinophil count and serum ECP to normal, with satisfactory improvement in clinical features. Eosinophilia may cause cardiac damage, and this report confirms that eosinophil degranulation is
toxic. Thus, serum ECP seems to be a reliable indicator for diagnosis
and for determining treatment parameters of eosinophilic myocarditis.
This article has been cited by other articles:
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  S Hayashi, S Furuya, and H Imamura Fulminant eosinophilic endomyocarditis in an asthmatic patient treated with pranlukast after corticosteroid withdrawal Heart, September 1, 2001; 86(3): e7 - 7. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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