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Cardiology

Ominous Electrocardiographic Abnormalities in a Patient With Hepatocellular Carcinoma

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To identify the key insights or developments described in this article

1 Credit CME

JAMA Internal Medicine

Published Online: April 25, 2022

Challenges in Clinical Electrocardiography

Article Information and Disclosures

Lili Hong, MD¹;

Tong Liu, MD, PhD²

Author Affiliations

¹Department of Oncology, Tianjin Huanghe Hospital, Tianjin, China
²Tianjin Key Laboratory of Ionic-Molecular Function of Cardiovascular Disease, Department of Cardiology, Tianjin Institute of Cardiology, Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China

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A patient in their early 60s presented to the emergency department with 1 week of progressive weakness, myalgia, dyspnea, and ptosis. The patient’s medical history was significant for hepatocellular carcinoma, for which the patient had received radical surgery followed by an initial dose of camrelizumab 1 month before presentation. Vital signs on admission noted a blood pressure of 150/90 mm Hg, respiratory rate of 27 breaths per minute, heart rate of 108 beats per minute, and oxygen saturation of 92% on room air. Investigation revealed a creatinine phosphokinase level of 8156 U/L (reference range, <190 U/L), troponin I level of 1.47 ng/mL (reference range, <0.01 ng/mL; to convert to μg/L, multiply by 1), brain natriuretic peptide level of 267.3 pg/mL (reference range, <300 pg/mL), and a positive test result for acetylcholine receptor antibodies. Echocardiogram results showed a preserved left ventricular ejection fraction without wall-motion abnormalities. A routine electrocardiogram (ECG) performed 1 month earlier yielded normal results. The ECG obtained on this admission is shown in the Figure, A.

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Camrelizumab, a programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) inhibitor, represents a substantial advance for treating various cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma.¹ However, this comes at the cost of various immune-related adverse events (irAEs), among which ICI-related myocarditis remains a unique clinical challenge because of the heterogeneous presentations and potential life-threatening consequences. Many patients with ICI-related myocarditis might present with signs of heart failure, and up to 79% may develop left ventricular systolic dysfunction.² However, the striking cardiac manifestation was conduction abnormality but not heart failure in this patient, suggesting a focal myocarditis that mainly involves the conduction system. It has been reported that 13% of patients with ICI-related cardiotoxic effects could manifest an isolated conduction disease with normal systolic function.² Additionally, cardiac symptoms can often be masked by or coincident with other irAEs,³ such as myositis. Therefore, clinicians should be highly vigilant for the ICI-related myocarditis, particularly when noncardiac symptoms are present. As for the patient and family caregivers, they should receive up-to-date education about the clinical profile of myocarditis and other possible concurrent irAEs. Routine clinical follow-up and ECGs are necessary for the early detection of myocarditis, as ECGs appear to be one of the most sensitive tests of ICI-related myocarditis.³

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Article Information

Corresponding Authors: Lili Hong, MD, Department of Oncology, Tianjin Huanghe Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China (honglitj@163.com); Tong Liu, MD, PhD, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Ionic-Molecular Function of Cardiovascular Disease, Department of Cardiology, Tianjin Institute of Cardiology, Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China (liutong@tmu.edu.cn).

Published Online: April 25, 2022. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2022.1226

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None were reported.

Additional Contributions: We thank Nan Zhang, MD, Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, and Gan-Xin Yan, PhD, Lankenau Medical Center, for their helpful comments. They were not compensated for their contributions.

References

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Escudier M , Cautela J , Malissen N , et al. Clinical features, management, and outcomes of immune checkpoint inhibitor–related cardiotoxicity. Circulation. 2017;136(21):2085-2087. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.030571 PubMed Google Scholar Crossref

Schneider BJ , Naidoo J , Santomasso BD , et al. Management of immune-related adverse events in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy: ASCO guideline update. J Clin Oncol. 2021;39(36):4073-4126. doi:10.1200/JCO.21.01440 PubMed Google Scholar Crossref

Surawicz B , Knilans TK , eds. Chou’s Electrocardiography in Clinical Practice. 6th ed. W.B. Saunders; 2008.

Cao YW , Wang F , Wu HY . Recurrent syncope in a patient with bifascicular block. JAMA Intern Med. 2022;182(1):68-69. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.6599 PubMed Google Scholar Crossref

Zhang L , Zlotoff DA , Awadalla M , et al. Major adverse cardiovascular events and the timing and dose of corticosteroids in immune checkpoint inhibitor–associated myocarditis. Circulation. 2020;141(24):2031-2034. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.119.044703 PubMed Google Scholar Crossref

AMA CME Accreditation Information

Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;
1.00 Lifelong Learning points in the American Board of Pathology’s (ABPath) Continuing Certification program; and
1.00 credit toward the CME [and Self-Assessment requirements] of the American Board of Surgery’s Continuous Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting MOC credit.