In 1899 Simmonds1 reported the first case of congenital idiopathic cardiac hypertrophy. Since then, a total of 77 cases similar in many ways to Simmonds' case have been reported.
In 1933 Kugel and Stoloff2 extensively reviewed the literature up to that time and added 7 cases of their own. It was pointed out by them that in their cases etiologic factors, such as severe pertussis, tuberculosis, pneumonia, bronchitis, undeveloped fetal glomeruli, status lymphaticus with thymic enlargement and nephritis, made the idiopathic portion of this diagnosis untenable. The present case fulfils the clinical criteria for the diagnosis of congenital idiopathic cardiac enlargement, but on pathologic study syphilis was found to be an underlying factor, which, therefore, would exclude it from being an instance of true idiopathic hypertrophy.
REPORT OF A CASE
A white girl aged 13 months was admitted to the pediatric service of the Cumberland Hospital on Nov.