CaseReport
Separating Acute Rheumatic Fever from Nonrheumatic
Streptococcal Myocarditis
LaithA.Derbas ,
1
Anweshan Samanta,
1
Srinivasa Potla,
1
Moustafa Younis,
1
Laura M. Schmidt,
1,2
andIbrahimM.Saeed
1,2
1
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA
2
Mid America Heart Institute, Saint Luke’s Hospital, Kansas City, MO, USA
Correspondence should be addressed to Ibrahim M. Saeed; isaeed@saint-lukes.org
Received 24 October 2018; Accepted 12 December 2018; Published 16 January 2019
Academic Editor: Alexander Bauer
Copyright © 2019 Laith A. Derbas et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
Introduction. Streptococcal pharyngitis has been historically complicated with systemic involvement manifesting as acute
rheumatic fever, which is a serious condition that can lead to permanent damage to heart valves. A recent association between
streptococcal pharyngitis and nonrheumatic heart disease is emerging in literature. We present a case of nonrheumatic
streptococcal myocarditis diagnosed using cardiac MRI. CasePresentation. A 25-year-old male, presented with complaints of sore
throat, nonproductive cough, fever, pleuritic chest pain, and progressive dyspnea for four days. e patient had elevated troponins
at presentation of 0.47 (ng/L) that peaked at 4.0 (ng/L). ECG showed sinus rhythm and STelevations in leads V2, V3, V4, and V5.
NT-Pro-BNP was 1740. Transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) showed reduced ejection fraction (EF) of 37% and global
hypokinesis. e rapid strep test was positive for group A streptococcus and C-reactive protein was elevated at 161. Cardiac MRI
demonstrated an EF of 53% and edema in the anterior wall without delayed gadolinium enhancement. Cardiac catheterization
showed normal coronaries. Discussion. According to modified Jones criteria, the patient did not meet the full major or minor
criteria to be diagnosed with acute rheumatic fever. e course of the nonrheumatic myocarditis is favorable and includes a full
recovery of cardiac function, no involvement of cardiac valves, or long-term use of antibiotics. Conclusion. It is crucial to make a
separate distinction between acute rheumatic fever and nonrheumatic myocarditis because this will have huge implications on
management and long-term use of antibiotics. Cardiac imaging modalities can aid in distinction between the two disease entities.
1.Introduction
Streptococcal pharyngitis is often associated with systemic
involvement manifesting as acute rheumatic fever. is can
result in damage to all three layers of the heart, the epi-
cardium, myocardium, and endocardium, in a spectrum of
disease traditionally known as rheumatic heart disease [1].
Recent reports indicate the presence of an association be-
tween streptococcal pharyngitis and myocarditis, which
appears to fall outside of the realm of rheumatic fever and
rheumatic heart disease [2–6]. is distinct association
between streptococcal throat infection and cardiac in-
volvement could broaden our current understanding of
cardiac pathology beyond the purview of acute rheumatic
fever. We present a case of nonrheumatic streptococcal
myocarditis diagnosed with the assist of cardiac MRI.
2.ClinicalCourse
A 25-year-old man presented to the hospital with a 4-day
history of pleuritic chest pain and progressive dyspnea. He
had a sore throat, nonproductive cough, and fever over the
same duration of time. His ECG showed sinus rhythm with
ST elevations in leads V2, V3, V4, and V5 (Figure 1). Serial
troponins showed an upward trend with a peak of 4.0 (ng/L).
NT-pro-BNP was 1740 on presentation. Cardiac catheteri-
zation showed normal coronary anatomy. A TTE on the
same day showed a reduced ejection fraction of 37% with
Hindawi
Case Reports in Medicine
Volume 2019, Article ID 4674875, 3 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/4674875