en تخصصي Special پژوهشي Research <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#009999;"><strong>Background and Objective:</strong></span> Viral myocarditis (VMC) is one of the common heart diseases to endanger human health in different age groups, especially children. The aim of this study was to diagnose VMC in children with clinical suspicion of myocarditis (MCI) using multiplex real-time PCR in Birjand Vali-Asr Hospital.<br> <span style="color:#009999;"><strong>Methods:</strong></span> This cross-sectional study was conducted on 19 patients with clinical suspicion of MCI, who had evidence of infections in the recent weeks. Routine electrocardiogram and dynamic electrocardiogram (ECG) examinations, auxiliary laboratory testing and echocardiographic evaluation were performed. Multiplex real-time PCR was used for detection of viral agents in blood or pericardial fluid samples.<br> <span style="color:#009999;"><strong>Findings:</strong></span> The results indicated that 4 out of 19 (21.05%) MCI patients were virus-positive. The spectrum of viral agents included human herpesvirus 6, 7 (HHV), parvovirus B-19 (PVB19), Epstein&ndash;Barr virus (EBV), varicella zoster virus (VZV) and adenoviruses. A co-infection of HHV-6, 7 and PVB19 was found in one patient. The ECG findings such as sinus tachycardia with ST-T changes, premature ventricular contraction and complete heart block were observed in VMC patients. The predominant echocardiographic features in VMC patients were low ejection fraction, mitral regurgitation and severe pericardial effusion with hypotension. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) had abnormal increase in some patients.<br> <span style="color:#009999;"><strong>Conclusion:</strong></span> Our findings highlight the importance of identification of VMC in children with clinical suspicion of MCI. The present study emphasizes the importance of PCR-based assays for detection of viral agents in MCI patients with symptoms of virus infection.</span></span></div> <gdiv></gdiv><gdiv></gdiv><gdiv></gdiv><gdiv></gdiv><gdiv></gdiv> Child, Diagnosis, PCR Assays, Viral Myocarditis, Virus Spectrum 458 464 http://caspianjp.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-168-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Forod Salehi Drh.salehi@bums.ac.ir 10031947532846002782 10031947532846002782 No Infectious Diseases Research Center, Cardiovascular Diseases Research Center, Department of pediatric cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran Shiva Salehi shvasalehi77@yahoo.com 10031947532846002783 10031947532846002783 No Faculty of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran Masoud Yousefi Masoud.Yousefi@bums.ac.ir 10031947532846002784 10031947532846002784 Yes Infectious Diseases Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran