Sepsis-induced Takotsubo syndrome in young premenopausal women: Two case reports.

RATIONALE: Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) most commonly occurs in postmenopausal women who have been exposed to a triggering event such as acute physical or emotional distress. Sepsis-induced TTS in young premenopausal women were rarely reported. In particular, the relationship between sepsis-induced TTS and sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy (SIC) remains to be illuminated. PATIENT CONCERNS: Two young premenopausal women were admitted to the hospital with sepsis and myocardial involvement. DIAGNOSIS: Both patients fully met the Mayo Clinic criteria for TTS. INTERVENTIONS: Both patients received anti-infection and fluid infusion treatment. OUTCOMES: Both patients were discharged without complications and the follow-up ultrasonic echocardiography showed normal results. LESSONS: In this report, we describe 2 young premenopausal women with sepsis-induced TTS. There is an overlap between sepsis-induced TTS and SIC, and SIC could be a special type of TTS, which occurs under the stress of sepsis.

Tuberculous myocarditis is not always fatal: Report of three confirmed cases with uneventful outcome.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of death worldwide. It can affect any organ. However, cardiac involvement is extremely rare. Anti-TB therapy has been proved to be effective and curative in majority of TB cases except TB myocarditis, where it is found to be fatal. We describe three cases with confirmed TB with impaired left ventricular systolic function and low ejection fraction. All three cases improved clinically and left ventricular function returned to normal within a few weeks after the commencement of TB therapy.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy and acute infectious diseases: a mini-review of case reports.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC), also defined as "stress cardiomyopathy," is characterized by a systolic dysfunction localized in the apical and medial left ventricles. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is more prevalent in females and it is usually related to an event triggered by physical or emotional stress. We systematically explored PubMed and Embase medical information source to identify case reports showing association between infection and TTC. For each kind of infection, we collected a set of data, including pathogen, site of infection, clinical outcome, patient age and sex, and author and year of publication. We found 26 articles dealing with 27 case reports (74% women). The mean age was 61.4 ± 13.7 years and bacterial infections were more frequent (n = 23, 85.2%). In 14 cases, there was a culture-based definition of the bacterial strain: gram+ in 8 cases (57.1%) and gram- in 6 cases (42.9%). Clinical outcome was always favorable.

Severe reversible myocardial depression in a patient with Pseudomonas aeruginosa sepsis suggesting tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy.

Acute coronary syndromes are not uncommon in medical intensive care units. Multiple molecular, pharmacologic, and hemodynamic mechanisms may contribute to the pathogenesis resulting in increased mortality in this setting. Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy is a recently defined uncommon cardiac syndrome with characteristic features often encountered in patients with hyperadrenergic situations such as emotional stress. Although myocardial depression in sepsis can be expected in previously healthy individuals; tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy is rarely reported in septic patients. In this case report we present a 52 year-old man with sepsis secondary to Pseudomonas pneumonia who developed significant segmental wall motion abnormalities during the disease course. The patient's myocardial function recovered completely soon after the sepsis resolved. Clinical, echocardiographic, and coronary angiographic findings suggested the diagnosis of tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy in this patient.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy associated with sepsis due to Streptococcus pneumoniae pneumonia.

A 65-year-old woman was transferred from another hospital with a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction associated with shock. An initial electrocardiogram (ECG) showed ST-segment elevation in leads V1-V6. A transoesophageal echocardiogram showed akinesis of the distal anterior septum and apical regions and hyperkinesis of the basal segments, with an ejection fraction of 20%- 25%. The coronary angiogram showed trivial coronary disease. By Day 6 of admission, the ECG showed normal left ventricle size and systolic function, with an ejection fraction of 65% and no regional abnormalities of wall motion. Sputum examination subsequently revealed typical Streptococcus pneumoniae. Our case demonstrates for the first time an association between sepsis and takotsubo cardiomyopathy. We analyse the possible role of sepsis and the systemic inflammatory response syndrome caused by severe infection as the initial causative mechanism of this syndrome.