Giant cell myocarditis in young woman diagnosed at the autopsy: a case report.

Giant cell myocarditis (GCM) is a rare inflammatory disease of the heart that often affects younger patients. The clinical course is typically rapid with fulminant congestive heart failure. Prognosis is poor; the proper diagnosis is often rendered at the autopsy. Herein, we present a prototypical case of this rare type of myocarditis, affecting a 44-year-old previously healthy woman who was referred to the intensive care department due to an acute onset cardiac arrest followed by resuscitation. The heart ultrasound and imaging examinations revealed a severe dysfunction and dilatation of both ventricles, without any significant finding in the coronary arteries. Twelve days after the initial presentation, the patient died due to congestive heart failure refractory to intensive therapy. The post-mortem histology of the heart revealed multiple small necrotic foci in the myocardium in both ventricles, with dense inflammatory infiltration with abundant multinucleated giant histiocytes, in line with a diagnosis of GCM. The natural history, pathophysiology, and histological differential diagnosis is discussed, together with review of the relevant literature including uncommon and emerging units.

The efficacy of a non-leaching antibacterial central venous catheter - a prospective, randomized, double-blind study.

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial coatings of central venous catheters (CVC) have the potential to reduce the risk of infectious complications. The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of a catheter with a non-leaching antimicrobial coating against catheter colonization and bloodstream infections (BSI). METHODS: The study was conducted in two centers using a prospective, randomized, double-blind and controlled design (680 intensive care patients; a protective CVC (Certofix® protect) or a standard CVC (Certofix®). Primary objectives were the rates of catheter colonization and BSI in the two groups. Other baseline demographics, APACHE II score, insertion site, location of CVC placement (ICU or theatre), indwelling time and length of ICU stay were comparable for both groups. RESULTS: While the rate of catheter colonization between the coated and uncoated CVC (17.4% vs. 18.7%, P=0.7477) and the rate of microbiologically confirmed catheter associated infections were similar (1.4% vs. 1.9%, P=0.7521), the coated CVC showed a significantly lower incidence of BSI (2.0% vs. 6.5%, P=0.0081) and a significantly lower mean incidence of BSI per 1000 catheter days (3.2 vs. 8.3, P=0.0356). CONCLUSION: The non-leaching antibacterial coating of the protective catheter was effective in reducing the incidence of BSI but not the rate of catheter colonization. However, the incidence of BSI is a better surrogate marker for the risk of developing clinical signs of infection suggesting that use of the non-leaching protective catheter is effective in this regard. Trial number: ClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT00555282), https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00555282.