Is pediatric myocarditis serious?

Written by Chen Si
Pediatrics
Updated on November 07, 2024
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The severity of myocarditis in children needs to be assessed by considering the child's clinical symptoms and corresponding clinical examinations comprehensively. Common clinical symptoms include chest tightness, fatigue, shortness of breath, etc. Most children have a history of upper respiratory tract infection before the symptoms appear. It is necessary to conduct routine blood tests, myocardial enzymes, troponin, myocardial antibodies, viral antibodies, electrocardiograms, and other relevant physicochemical examinations to further clarify the condition. Patients with mild symptoms and roughly normal laboratory results can improve on their own with rest. If there are clinical symptoms such as chest tightness, fatigue, shortness of breath, and related physicochemical examinations show abnormal changes, it is necessary to use medication to nourish the myocardium. During treatment, rest is advised, reduce fatigue, maintain emotional stability, and generally, the symptoms can improve within 10 to 15 days. For more severe cases, the treatment period may need to be extended accordingly.

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Written by Di Zhi Yong
Cardiology
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How to relieve myocarditis pain?

If a patient is diagnosed with myocarditis, especially viral myocarditis, and experiences chest pain, some analgesic medications can be used, particularly non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). If the patient has infective endocarditis or other forms of myocarditis, it is not recommended to use pain-relieving medications due to individual differences, as this may exacerbate symptoms and mask the true condition. For general cases of myocarditis, it is sufficient to use some common NSAIDs. However, it is still important to actively treat the primary disease, control the patient's symptoms, and initially use antiviral medications predominantly, which can also alleviate symptoms. Regular echocardiogram reviews to monitor changes are also necessary.

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Written by Zhou Yan
Geriatrics
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Does myocarditis cause a fever?

Myocarditis is an inflammatory heart disease, commonly caused by viral infections, with the Coxsackievirus being the most common. Other infections, such as bacterial, fungal, and Rickettsia, can also cause myocarditis. These infectious myocarditis cases generally show preliminary symptoms of infection, such as fever, in the 1 to 3 weeks before the onset of the disease. Fever indicates a high body temperature, which means the same as having a fever. However, there are also non-infectious forms of myocarditis, such as those caused by drugs, radiation, or connective tissue diseases, and these non-infectious types of myocarditis do not always involve a fever.

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Written by Yan Xin Liang
Pediatrics
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Do children with myocarditis have a fever?

In general, viral myocarditis is the most common form of myocarditis in children. This condition can be caused by various viruses such as influenza, parainfluenza, Coxsackie virus, adenovirus, etc., affecting the pediatric cardiac muscle tissue, which in turn can lead to symptoms of myocarditis. Since it is an infectious disease, fever is a common symptom. Fevers associated with myocarditis might present as high or moderate. Treatment primarily focuses on cardiac recovery, nourishing the cardiac muscle, steroids, and immunoglobulins, among others. Severe myocarditis is a critical condition that requires timely diagnosis and treatment to avoid worsening the situation.

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Written by Zhou Yan
Geriatrics
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Criteria for Diagnosing Myocarditis

The diagnosis of myocarditis is primarily clinical, based on typical precursor symptoms, corresponding clinical manifestations, and physical signs. The precursor symptoms usually occur one to three weeks before the onset, including symptoms of a viral infection such as fever, general fatigue, and muscle soreness, or gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea and vomiting. Subsequently, symptoms such as chest tightness, palpitations, difficulty breathing, and even fainting and sudden death may occur. The physical signs generally include arrhythmias, commonly premature atrial contractions, premature ventricular contractions, or conduction blocks. There may be an increased heart rate which does not correspond to the body temperature, and there could be the presence of second or third heart sounds or gallop rhythm. A minority of patients may show signs of heart failure. Tests can include electrocardiograms, enzymatic studies, or echocardiograms, and magnetic resonance imaging may show symptoms of myocardial injury. To confirm the diagnosis, an endomyocardial biopsy must be performed.

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Written by Xiao Chang Jiang
Cardiology
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Is myocarditis contagious?

Many people often ask if my myocarditis is contagious. Actually, myocarditis is a focal inflammatory lesion of the myocardium or a diffuse inflammatory disease of the entire myocardium. It is an inflammatory disease of the myocardium. Based on the cause, we classify it into infectious and non-infectious types. The infectious type is mostly caused by viruses, such as Coxsackievirus B, or by bacteria, while non-infectious type is caused by allergies. Generally, they are not contagious.