Magnetic resonance imaging findings in acute myocarditis and correlation with immunohistological parameters.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the role of MRI in diagnosing acute myocarditis by correlation with immunohistological parameters.


METHODS
A total of 131 patients (85 men, 46 women; mean age, 44.9 years) with suspected acute myocarditis were examined by MRI. The relative water content of the left ventricular myocardium as well as relative and late enhancement was correlated with the immunohistological results in biopsy specimens.


RESULTS
Myocardial inflammation was confirmed by immunohistology in 82 of the 131 patients investigated and ruled out in 49 patients. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for diagnosing myocarditis in patients with immunohistologically proven disease were 48.8%, 73.8% and 57.3%, respectively, for relative enhancement, 58.3%, 57.1% and 57.9% for relative water content, and 30.6%, 88.1% and 49.6% for late enhancement. A combination of all three parameters had 39,3% sensitivity and 91,3% specificity and 62,7% accuracy. Relative enhancement and late enhancement significantly correlated with the presence of myocarditis but relative oedema did not.


CONCLUSIONS
Relative and late enhancement significantly correlate with the presence of myocarditis, while there is no significant correlation for relative oedema. Myocarditis cannot be reliably diagnosed using any of the three MRI parameters alone but combinations of parameters will improve specificity.
Klinik für Strahlenheilkunde, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany. rainer.roettgen@charite.de
Rainer
R
Röttgen
Robert
R
Christiani
Patrick
P
Freyhardt
Matthias
M
Gutberlet
Hans Peter
HP
Schultheiss
Bernd
B
Hamm
Uwe
U
Kühl
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009205:Myocarditis / Q000473:pathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013223:Statistics as Topic