Fulminant myocarditis during HIV seroconversion: recovery with temporary left ventricular mechanical assistance.

A 32-year-old male was admitted to our intensive care unit for low cardiac output syndrome. Echocardiography was suggestive of extensive hypokinesia and the ejection fraction was 0.22.

Neonatal lupus.

Congenital heart block (CHB), defined as an atrioventricular block diagnosed in utero, at birth, or within the neonatal period (0-27 d after birth), is a rare disorder closely linked to transplacental transport of maternal antibodies anti-Ro/SSA and anti-La/SSB. These antibodies may induce a myocarditis, or interact directly with calcium channel proteins with disturbance of transmembrane signaling at the level of the conduction tissue, or interfere with apoptosis. Depending on the severity of the process, the fetus may die in utero or a few days after birth or survive to the perinatal period and have a near-normal life; in most survivors a pace-maker must be implanted.

Neonatal lupus manifests as isolated neutropenia and mildly abnormal liver functions.

Neonatal lupus is characterized by typical clinical features and the presence of maternal autoantibodies. Mothers can have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or Sjögren's syndrome, but are commonly not affected with any clinical disease. The major clinical manifestations in the infants are cardiac, dermatological and hepatic with rare instances of hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia or neutropenia.