Dilated cardiomyopathy in a child with hyper-immunoglobulin E syndrome

Abstract

Hyper-immunoglobulin E syndrome is a rare primary immunodeficiency. We report a 6-year-old girl diagnosed with hyper immunoglobulin E syndrome and dilated cardiomyopathy. She presented with recurrent pneumonia and chronic eczema since infancy; onychomycosis, eosinophilia, high immunoglobulin E levels, previous treatment for severe infections and dilated cardiomyopathy. She was treated with diuretics, afterload reducers, inotropes, aspirin, steroids and antibiotics. Whether the cardiomyopathy is a co-incidental finding or a result of viral myocarditis due to the recurrent chest infections she had was difficult to conclusively determine.