Coronary thrombosis and sudden death after an enteroviral infection. Case report.
We report the case of a 26-year-old man who died suddenly 9 days after an episode of flu. Microscopic examination of the left anterior descending coronary artery showed an eccentric fibroatheromatic plaque complicated by thrombosis, endothelial erosion and extensive T-cell and macrophage infiltration. Frozen sections of the thrombotic coronary segment, analysed for different infective agents by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR, showed positive amplification for an enteroviral genome. Enteroviral infection may play an important role in coronary plaque instability and may precipitate thrombotic occlusion.
Calabrese
Fiorella
F
Department of Pathology, University of Padua Medical School, Padua, Italy.
Basso
Cristina
C
Valente
Marialuisa
M
Thiene
Gaetano
G
D000328:Adult; D003328:Coronary Thrombosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D017934:Coronavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D004769:Enterovirus Infections / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
D004279:DNA, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral