[Pericarditis and myocarditis in salmonellosis]

Abstract

Possible cardiac involvement has been investigated in 103 cases of salmonellosis. 12 patients showed pathological clinical, laboratory and ECG findings suggesting heart damage during the course of the infectious disease. In 2 cases acute fibrinous pericarditis was diagnosed, in 1 case acute effusive pericarditis and in 1 patient acute peri-myocarditis. In the remaining 8 patients the pathological findings suggested the presence of myocarditis. The heart involvement may be the predominating clinical sign, as shown in 3 out of our cases, but in the majority the cardiac symptoms are only very slight. These data indicate that heart involvement is less rare in salmonellosis than is generally thought. On the other hand, salmonellosis should be considered in cases of peri- or myocarditis of unknown origin.