CT findings in acute myocarditis: 2 cases

Abstract

Myocarditis is a serious and life-threatening illness, which can pose a significant diagnostic dilemma at presentation. We report 2 patients with clinical myocarditis who had distinctive findings at coronary computed tomography. Both patients demonstrated delayed myocardial enhancement with iodinated contrast. The morphologic features of the enhancement were similar to the myocardial enhancement with gadolinium contrast on magnetic resonance imaging recently described in patients with myocarditis, and different from the enhancement patterns seen in patients with myocardial infarction. These findings are not previously reported in the literature. As computed tomography is more widely available for use in the acute setting than magnetic resonance imaging, these findings may have significant clinical utility and warrant further investigation.