CARDIOVASCULAR COMPLICATIONS OF TRICHINOSIS

Abstract

In a preliminary report,¹ attention was called to the electrocardiographic changes in a severe case of trichinosis. A fatal case was also reported in which death was due to severe myocarditis and pneumonia. Larvae were recovered from the cardiac muscle by the digestion method described by Augustine and Theiler.² The purpose of this paper is to present the findings in the foregoing cases in more detail, to add the findings in six additional cases and to review briefly the cardiovascular complications of trichinosis. REPORT OF CASES The following case is one of severe trichinosis with myocardiac changes as shown in the accompanying electrocardiograms³: Case 1.—History. —R. K., a 38 year old Jewish housewife, entered the hospital complaining of diarrhea of two weeks' duration. Three weeks before onset she and her daughter had eaten pork chops which were thought to have been well cooked. The daughter had