ISSN: 2639-2038
Authors: De Paolis M, Camilli G, Mezzetti P, Bier N, Faleburle A, Di Giuli C, Saraca LM*, Sicari F, Palumbo M and Dominici M
Myocarditis is an inflammatory pathology of the heart muscle having heterogeneous etiology: infectious, autoimmune (e.g. Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sarcoidosis, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, and Scleroderma) or iatrogenic for exposure to toxins or drugs (e.g. cardiotoxicity from chemotherapy). Myocarditis presents itself with a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, ranging from the infarct-like forms, heart failure, syncope up to hypo or hyperkinetic arrhythmias, or run in a paucisymptomatic way with almost silent symptoms. The most common cause of myocarditis is a viral infection. The coronavirus SARS-CoV2, the causative agent of COVID 19, which is responsible for the current pandemic, has a close correlation with myocardial damage and the increased risk of cardiovascular events that the infected patients present, in particular the elderly or those suffering from multiple comorbidities. Human pathogenic coronaviruses, some already identified since the 1960s and others more recently, are seven and they are divided into alpha and betacoronaviruses: 229E, OC43, NL63, HKU1, MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2. We describe the case of a male patient suffering from probable myocarditis due to subministration of monoclonal antibody Pembrolizumab and contextual isolation from nasopharyngeal swab of coronavirus NL63.
Keywords: Myocarditis; NL63 Coronavirus; COVID-19; Pembrolizumab
