Cardiac involvement in pediatric hemolytic uremic syndrome

{Background Cardiac involvement is a known but rare complication of pediatric hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). We conducted a nationwide observational, retrospective case-control study describing factors associated with the occurrence of myocarditis among HUS patients. Methods Cases were defined as hospitalized children affected by any form of HUS with co-existent myocarditis in 8 French Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICU) between January 2007 and December 2018. Control subjects were children, consecutively admitted with any form of HUS without coexistent myocarditis, at a single PICU in Lyon, France, during the same time period. Results A total of 20 cases of myocarditis were reported among 8 PICUs, with a mean age of 34.3 +/- 31.9 months; 66 controls were identified. There were no differences between the two groups concerning the season and the typical, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC-HUS), or atypical HUS (aHUS). Maximal leukocyte count was higher in the myocarditis group (29.1 +/- 16.3G/L versus 21.0 +/- 9.9G/L