Fulminant Versus Acute Nonfulminant Myocarditis in Patients With Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction

BACKGROUND Fulminant myocarditis (FM) is a form of acute myocarditis characterized by severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction requiring inotropes and/or mechanical circulatory support. A single-center study found that a patient with FM had better outcomes than those with acute nonfulminant myocarditis (NFM) presenting with left ventricular systolic dysfunction, but otherwise hemodynamically stable. This was recently challenged, so disagreement still exists. OBJECTIVES This study sought to provide additional evidence on the outcome of FM and to ascertain whether patient stratification based on the main histologic subtypes can provide additional prognostic information. METHODS A total of 220 patients (median age 42 years, 46.3% female) with histologically proven acute myocarditis (onset of symptoms