Myocarditis in Instances of Pneumonia

THE occurrence of myocarditis in infectious diseases, and its association with pneumonia, is well known.1 Recent studies have emphasized the electrocardiographic and clinical aspects of myocarditis in pneumonia, but have not dealt with its histologic aspects. In view of our altered concept of the incidence of myocarditis in other diseases, a detailed histologic study of the myocardium in instances of pneumonia is indicated. In the following report a study is presented of hearts taken from 67 patients with pneumonia in whom the pneumonia involved at least the total of one lobe. Thus, instances of terminal bronchopneumonia or minimal pneumonia were excluded. Also excluded were infants who lived less than a week. Instances of rheumatic, tuberculous, or of any other specific myo-carditis which might have been associated with pneumonia were also ex-cluded, as were the various bacterial and subacute bacterial endocarditides. In spite of the fact that for years the question as to whether or not to give digitalis to patients with pneumonia was uppermost in the minds of clinicians,