Cytomegalovirus infection in a patient with new onset systemic lupus erythematosus and acute myocardial infarction - cause or causal relationship?

9^th International Conference on Clinical & Medical Case Reports

September 27-28, 2018 | Amsterdam, Netherlands

Anum Asif and Maria Del Pilar Morales

Saint Agnes Hospital, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Clin Case Rep

Abstract :

The possible role of infectious and inflammatory states in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic disease has been a matter of debate in the literature. There are case reports of active Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection unmasking underlying dormant systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). CMV infection has also been postulated to be associated with atherosclerosis development in the coronaries. We present a unique case where a patient with newly diagnosed SLE and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was found to have high anti- CMV titers suggesting concomitant active CMV infection. Although an association between CMV infection and atherosclerosis has been postulated in the past, there are no studies available that have established a causal relationship. It is important to identify these patients early and work on risk factor modification; it might also be prudent to refer them to preventive cardiology for close follow up. We believe it is reasonable to routinely check CMV titers in patients with underlying inflammatory conditions like SLE or other related autoimmune diseases; these patients could then be followed prospectively to see if causality could be established.

Biography :

E-mail: anubukhari@hotmail.com