[Thromboembolic mask of severe lymphocytic myopericarditis: possibilities of clinical and morphological diagnostics and complex treatment].

This report presents a clinical case of a 57-year-old female patient who was admitted for dyspnea, productive cough, reduced left ventricular (LV) systolic function, and who had previously undergone thoracocentesis for significant pleural effusion. This case is a unique combination of lymphocytic myocarditis and massive intracardiac and ileo-caval thrombosis. Morphological verification of the diagnosis, that was necessary prior to the administration of immunosuppressive therapy due to the prothrombogenic effect of glucocorticoids, provided a justification for a basis therapy for myocarditis, which significantly improved the patient's condition.

[Clinical and morphological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2-related myocarditis proven by the presence of viral RNA and proteins in myocardial tissue]. / Kliniko-morfologicheskaya kharakteristika SARS-CoV-2-assotsiirovannogo miokardita, podtverzhdennogo nalichiem RNK i belkov virusa v tkani miokarda.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical and morphological features of SARS-CoV-2-related myocarditis, by determining the presence of viral RNA and proteins in myocardial tissue. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was conducted to examine the material of 32 autopsies with a confirmed diagnosis of myocarditis. There were data of a morphological study, including a standard histological study, as well as immunohistochemical determination of the surface markers CD45, CD3, CD20, and CD68 cells of an inflammatory infiltrate and virus proteins (SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein and spike protein). Positive and negative control tests were carried out. In addition, coronavirus RNA was detected in the myocardium using a polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) revealed viral RNA in myocardial tissue. Viral proteins were identified in the macrophages of an inflammatory infiltrate and cardiomyocytes. CONCLUSION: The findings may suggest that the virus persists in the myocardium and chronic myocarditis develops.

Subacute and chronic post-covid myoendocarditis: clinical presentation, role of coronavirus persistence and autoimmune mechanisms.

Aim    To study clinical features of myoendocarditis and its possible mechanisms, including persistence of SARS-Cov-2 in the myocardium, in the long-term period following COVID-19.Material and methods    This cohort, prospective study included 15 patients aged 47.8±13.4 years (8 men) with post-COVID myocarditis. The COVID-19 diagnosis was confirmed for all patients. Median time to seeking medical care after COVID-19 was 4 [3; 7] months. The diagnosis of myocarditis was confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the heart (n=10) and by endomyocardial biopsy of the right ventricle (n=6). The virus was detected in the myocardium with PCR; immunohistochemical (IHC) study with antibody to SARS-Cov-2 was performed; anticardiac antibody level was measured; and echocardiography and Holter monitoring were performed. Hemodynamically significant coronary atherosclerosis was excluded for all patients older than 40 years.Results    All patients showed a clear connection between the emergence or exacerbation of cardiac symptoms and COVID-19. 11 patients did not have any signs of heart disease before COVID-19; 4 patients had previously had moderate arrhythmia or heart failure (HF) without myocarditis. Symptoms of myocarditis emerged at 1-5 months following COVID-19. MRI revealed typical late gadolinium accumulation, signs of hyperemia, and one case of edema. The level of anticardiac antibodies was increased 3-4 times in 73 % больных. Two major clinical variants of post-COVID myocarditis were observed. 1. Arrhythmic (n=6), with newly developed extrasystole or atrial fibrillation without systolic dysfunction. 2. Decompensated variant with systolic dysfunction and biventricular HF (n=9). Mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 34.1±7.8 %, and left ventricular end-diastolic dimension was 5.8±0.7 cm. In one case, myocarditis was associated with signs of IgG4­negative aortitis. SARS-Cov-2 RNA was found in 5 of 6 biopsy samples of the myocardium. The longest duration of SARS-Cov-2 persistence in the myocardium was 9 months following COVID-19. By using antibody to the Spike antigen and nucleocapsid, SARS-Cov-2 was detected in cardiomyocytes, endothelium, and macrophages. Five patients were diagnosed with lymphocytic myocarditis; one with giant-cell myocarditis; three patients had signs of endocarditis (infectious, lymphocytic with mural thrombosis).Conclusion    Subacute/chronic post-COVID myocarditis with isolated arrhythmias or systolic dysfunction is characterized by long-term (up to 9 months) persistence of SARS-Cov-2 in the myocardium in combination with a high immune activity. Endocarditis can manifest either as infectious or as nonbacterial thromboendocarditis. A possibility of using corticosteroids and anticoagulants in the treatment of post-COVID myoendocarditis should be studied.

[Miocarditis in Patients with COVID-19 Confirmed by Immunohistochemical].

Aim      Despite the regular heart damage in patients with coronavirus pneumonia caused by SARS-Cov-2, a possibility of developing lymphocytic myocarditis as a part of COVID-19 remains unsubstantiated. The aim of this study was to demonstrate a possibility of lymphocytic myocarditis and to study its morphological features in patients with the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) with a severe course.Material and methods   Postmortem data were studied for 5 elderly patients (74.8±4.4 years; 3 men and 2 women) with the novel coronavirus infection and bilateral, severe polysegmental pneumonia (stage 3-4 by computed tomography). COVID-19 was diagnosed based on the typical clinical presentation and positive polymerase chain reaction test in nasopharyngeal swabs. All patients were treated in different hospitals repurposed for the treatment of patients with COVID-19. A standard histological study was performed with hematoxylin and eosin, toluidine blue, and van Gieson staining. Serial paraffin slices were studied immunohistochemically with antibodies to CD3, СD68, CD20, perforin, and toll-like receptors (TLR) 4 and 9.Results In none of the cases, myocarditis was suspected clinically, added to the diagnosis or indicated as a possible cause of death. IHD and acute myocardial infarction were mentioned as error diagnoses not confirmed by the postmortem examination. The morphological examination of the heart identified signs of lymphocytic myocarditis consistent with Dallas criteria for this diagnosis. Myocardial infiltrate was characterized in detail, and a combined inflammatory damage of endocardium and pericardium was described. The immunohistochemical study with cell infiltrate typing confirmed the presence of CD3-positive Т lymphocytes and the increased expression of TLR-4. A picture of coronaritis, including that with microvascular thrombosis, was found in all cases.Conclusion      A possibility for development of lymphocytic viral myocarditis in COVID-19 was confirmed morphologically and immunohistochemically. Specific features of myocarditis in COVID-19 include the presence of coronaritis and a possible combination of myocarditis with lymphocytic endo- and pericarditis.

[Lymphocytic myocarditis in patients with COVID-19 (4 autopsy cases)]. / Limfotsitarnyi miokardit u patsientov s COVID-19 (4 autopsiinykh nablyudeniya).

The paper describes 4 autopsy cases of myocarditis in elderly patients with confirmed coronavirus infection. It gives the data of a morphological study of heart specimens and a detailed characterization of a myocardial infiltrate. An immunohistochemical study with cellular infiltrate typing was performed. The fact that lymphocytic viral myocarditis can develop in COVID-19 was morphologically and immunohistochemically confirmed. The features of myocarditis in COVID-19 are the development of the former in the presence of coronaritis and the possibility of its concurrence with lymphocytic endo- and pericarditis.

[Clinical and morphological observation of Löffler's endomyocarditis]. / Kliniko-morfologicheskoe nablyudenie endomiokardita Lefflera.

The article describes the case of a 42-year-old young woman with Löffler's endomyocarditis (fibroplastic endomyocarditis with eosinophilic syndrome). Pathomorphological (macroscopic and histological) criteria for the diagnosis of this rare form of restrictive cardiomyopathy are presented.

[Liver alveococcosis concurrent with hepatocellular carcinoma (autopsy observation)]. / Sochetanie al'veokokkoza pecheni i gepatotselliuliarnoi kartsinomy (sektsionnoe nabliudenie).

The paper presents a unique case of an autopsy study of the concurrence of two diseases, such as liver alveococcosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, in a 46-year-old woman with obvious hypercoagulability syndrome caused by parasitic invasion. It gives the macroscopic and histological characteristics of this case.