Myocardial inflammation on cardiovascular magnetic resonance predicts left ventricular function recovery in children with recent dilated cardiomyopathy.

AIMS To analyse the predictive role of myocardial inflammation assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) on the outcome of recently diagnosed dilated cardiomyopathy in children. METHODS AND RESULTS Over a period of 4 years, 66 children underwent CMR within 2 weeks after the diagnosis of dilated cardiomyopathy. CMR sequences sensitive for oedema, hyperaemia, and irreversible injury were applied: unenhanced cine steady-state free precession (SSFP), black-blood-prepared T1-weighted images, T2-weighted images, gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted images (EGE), and late gadolinium-enhanced (LGE) images. Inflammatory cardiomyopathy defined as the presence of at least two CMR criteria was diagnosed in 31/66 children (CMR positive) while no criterion was present in the remaining 33 (CMR-negative). Only two patients had one positive criterion and were excluded from subsequent analysis. After a mean follow-up of 24 months, LV function recovery (LV ejection fraction >55%) was more frequent in the CMR-positive group (24 vs. 11, P < 0.05). The presence of myocardial inflammation and elevated troponin levels at baseline were the two predictors of LV function recovery with an odds ratio of 3.76 (P = 0.02) and 2.76 (P = 0.03), respectively, in a logistic regression model. Persisting LGE was rare in patients of the CMR-positive group at control CMR (6/22) and was never observed in the CMR-negative group (0/16). CONCLUSION The presence of myocardial inflammation on CMR at time of diagnosis of a dilated cardiomyopathy in children is a strong predictor of LV recovery.