Last update:
02-Nov-2000

Arch Hellen Med, 17(2), March-April 2000, 192-195

SHORT COMMUNICATION

Αn unusual case of Churg-Strauss syndrome

A. MICHAEL,¹ S.P. DOURAKIS,¹ A. ANDRIANAKOS,¹
C. PAPAGEORGIOU,¹ A. KIROUDI-VOULGARI,² S.J. HADZIYANNIS¹

¹Academic Department of Medicine, Hippokration General Hospital, Athens
²Department of Histology-Embryology, University of Athens, Medical School, Athens, Greece

Allergic granulomatosis and angiitis (Churg-Strauss syndrome) is a multisystem disorder characterized by angiitis of medium and small vessels, extravascular granulomas and eosinophilia. Cardiac involvement (cardiac insufficiency, pericarditis and coronary vessel vasculitis) is a common late complication and represents the major cause of mortality. We describe a case of a 53 year-old woman, with a history of asthma, allergic rhinitis, nasal polyps and paranasal sinusitis who presented with a sudden onset of acute cardiac insufficiency with pulmonary infiltrates and eosinophilia but without skin rash. Biopsy of the endocardium-myocardium showed eosinophilic infiltration of the myocardium without vasculitis. Treatment with methylprednisolone was associated with improvement of clinical and laboratory features. The clinical spectrum of the Churg-Strauss syndrome is broad. Cardiac involvement can be acute and early, causing problems in differential diagnosis and treatment.

Key words: Allergic granulomatosis and angiitis, Churg-Strauss syndrome, Hypereosinophilic syndrome, Μyocarditis.