Fulminant Myocarditis in a Child Requiring Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: A Case Report

Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) has been rarely performed in children with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), and the evidence for the use of ECPR in OHCA is inadequate. Hence, the accumulation of data from each case of pediatric OHCA is important for establishing evidence. The patient was a 10-year-old, innately healthy girl. In the early morning on the day of admission, she had a sudden cardiac arrest and was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. On arrival at the hospital, the waveform on the electrocardiographic monitor indicated ventricular tachycardia (VT). Defibrillation was performed. But as the VT persisted, the emergency physician performed ECPR in the emergency department (ED). We diagnosed her with fulminant myocarditis by the preceding symptoms of common cold, rapid circulatory failure, echocardiographic findings, electrocardiographic changes, and hematologic test results showing elevated levels of myocardial component proteins. The patient was discharged without neurological sequelae on hospital day 25. We summarize the clinical characteristics based on an analysis of the clinical course.