BACKGROUND: Chills, high fever, right upper abdomen pain, and increased white blood cell count are the main and common clinical features of bacterial liver abscess. It is rare to see bacterial liver abscess present symptoms of myocardial injury first, and this can lead to misdiagnosis.

CASE REPORT: We report a case of toxic myocarditis caused by bacterial liver abscess. The patient first presented with chest pain, ST segment elevation, and elevated TNI, which misled us to diagnose myocardial infarction, but the coronary artery had no stenosis or obstructive lesions after emergency coronary angiography. Then we modified the diagnosis to toxic myocarditis. Bacterial liver abscess was the proposed etiology after a series of auxiliary examinations. Finally, antibiotics and percutaneous liver puncture catheter drainage were used to improve the clinical outcome.

CONCLUSIONS: It is rare that patients with bacterial liver abscess first present symptoms of myocardial injury. Differential diagnosis between myocarditis and myocardial infarction should be careful, as myocarditis is a diagnosis of exclusion, and coronary angiography is necessary to confirm coronary disease. Percutaneous liver puncture catheter drainage can effectively cure bacterial liver abscess.

Keywords: Diagnosis, Differential, Klebsiella Infections - diagnosis, Klebsiella pneumoniae - isolation & purification, Liver Abscess - microbiology, Myocardial Infarction - diagnosis, Myocarditis - microbiology