endocardites

Acute myocardial infarction is an uncommon complication of infective endocarditis, burdened by high mortality and often underdiagnosed. Due to its reduced frequency, current guidelines do not always highlight this condition or provide clear indications regarding treatment. We present a case of acute coronary syndrome induced by the occlusion of the anterior descending artery, due to a septic embolus and treated by aspiration of the embolic material. The clinical-instrumental aspects necessary to raise the suspicion of endocarditis and make the diagnosis are then examined...

BACKGROUND: Coxiella burnetii, the etiologic agent of Q fever, is mainly responsible for endocardite. But there are only a few cases of Coxiella burnetii-caused wound infection have been published, because the pathogen is very difficult to isolate using conventional culture methods. CASE PRESENTATIONS: A 76-year-old man, underwent endovascular repair of ruptured left iliac aneurysm plus abdominal aortic aneurysm under general anesthesia in 2018. Left iliac fossa mass resection was performed in 2020...

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Infective endocarditis (IE) affecting the heart valves is burdened by a high risk of mortality and complications. In the aortic valve IE, when valve replacement is essential, there is evidence of good results with the use of pulmonary autographs (Ross procedure), but the application of this technique remains limited due to its poor dissemination. We present a complex case of mitro-aortic IE treated with the Ross procedure associated with removal of vegetation from the mitral valve in a 28-year-old patient undergoing hemodialytic treatment, already undergoing cardiac surgery through sternotomy in the past...

We describe the case of a patient presenting with acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock in the setting of an unknown bioprosthetic aortic valve endocarditis and in absence of obstructive coronary artery disease. Given the angiographic finding, the most likely etiology was external compression by a perivalvular abscess, which was confirmed during autopsy. Although rare, coronary artery compression should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute coronary syndromes complicating infective endocarditis...

Surgical treatment of valvular heart disease in Nigeria, the most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa, is adversely affected by socioeconomic factors such as poverty and ignorance. To evaluate our experience in this context, we identified all patients who underwent surgery for acquired or congenital valvular heart disease at our Nigerian center from February 2013 through January 2019. We collected data from their medical records, including patient age and sex, pathophysiologic causes and types of valvular disease, surgical treatment, and outcomes...

BACKGROUND: Despite guidelines describing the optimal diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for patients with suspected cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) infections, their management is often challenging. AIMS: To describe our diagnostic and therapeutic practices for suspected CIED infection, and to compare them with European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) guidelines. METHODS: Patients hospitalized in the tertiary care Nancy University Hospital for suspected CIED infection from 2014 to 2019 were included retrospectively...

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INTRODUCTION: Aspergillusfumigatus can cause a systemic infection called invasive aspergillosis causing pulmonary and extra-pulmonary damage. Aspergillus endocarditis (AE) is a relatively rare disease but can be life-threatening. CASE REPORTS: We report here on five cases of endocarditis due to invasive aspergillosis: a 58-year-old man receiving immunosuppressive medication following a kidney graft, a 58-year-old man undergoing chemotherapy for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, a 55-year-old man receiving corticosteroids for IgA vasculitis, a 52-year-old HIV-infected woman under no specific treatment and a 17-year-old boy under immunosuppressive therapy for auto-immune chronic neutropenia...

A 67-year-old woman with symptoms of shock was admitted to hospital with a suspected diagnosis of acute pulmonary artery embolism. After ruling out a thromboembolic event, sepsis was diagnosed by using the SOFA score. A CT scan of the chest with contrast revealed phlegmonous inflammation of the subcutis at the level of the right upper arm. After taking two pairs of peripheral blood samples, calculated antibiotic therapy with piperacillin/tazobactam was administered. After administration of an initial volume bolus, the patient could be transferred to the general medical ward in a stable condition with normal serum lactate level...

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BACKGROUND: Infective endocarditis (IE) is associated with a high mortality rate, related in part to neurological complications. Studies suggest that valvular surgery should be performed early when indicated, but is often delayed by the presence of neurological complications. AIM: To assess the effect of delaying surgery in patients with IE and neurological complications and to identify factors predictive of death. METHODS: In a prospective, single-centre study in a referral centre for IE, all patients with IE underwent systematic screening for neurological complications...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Neurological complications are common in patients with infective endocarditis (IE). Recent data suggest that neurologic events are a major determinant of prognosis, and that surgery is critical in improving the outcome. OBJECTIVE: To characterize patients with IE and neurological complications and to determine predictors of embolization to the central nervous system (CNS) and mortality. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of patients admitted to a tertiary center with the diagnosis of IE from 2006 to 2016...

AngioVac system (AngioDynamics) has already proved to be a useful tool in the treatment of thrombotic and endocarditic formations concerning the venous district. Herein, the AngioVac aspiration system combined with the bidirectional rotational Evolution mechanical sheath lead extraction was used for an effective and safety cardiac-device-related-infective-endocarditis removal in a grown-up congenital heart disease patient through a totally peripheral approach.

Trichosporon beigelii is a non-pathogenic fungus that can however become an opportunist agent of disseminating and potentially fatal infections, especially in immunocompromised patients. In the literature, there are only 11 published cases of infective endocarditis due to T. beigelii. Most of these cases involved immunocompetent individuals and the main risk factor was the presence of a prosthetic valve. The longest interval between surgery and endocarditis was eight years. In the present study, a case of prosthetic valve endocarditis due to T...

INTRODUCTION: Infective endocarditis affects cardiac valves or devices and has a potentially uncertain prognosis. Little information is available on the epidemiology of this disease in Portugal. OBJECTIVE: A systematic review of all evidence published in the last 30 years to assess epidemiological data in patients hospitalized with infective endocarditis in Portuguese hospital centers. METHODS: Extensive search of all published evidence using Medline, Scopus, general search databases and in addition Portuguese medical journals was performed...

BACKGROUND: 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18 F-FDG PET/CT) has recently been added as a major criterion in the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 2015 infective endocarditis guidelines. PET/CT is currently used in patients with suspected prosthetic valve and cardiac device-related endocarditis. However, the value of the ESC classification and the clinical impact of PET findings are unknown in patients with native valve endocarditis (NVE). AIMS: Our aims were: to assess the value of the ESC criteria (including PET/CT) in NVE; to determine the usefulness of PET/CT concerning embolic detection; and to describe a new PET/CT feature (diffuse splenic uptake)...

We present a case report of a patient with an infected mitral valve myxoma and a literature review on the subject. A 33-year-old female presented with a history of fever and dyspnea evolving over a few days. On admission, she had a lupus-like syndrome with positive blood cultures for Haemophilus species . Echocardiogram revealed a giant mass involving both mitral leaflets causing severe regurgitation, requiring biological mitral valve replacement. Microscopy showed an infected myxoma and the patient was discharged asymptomatic upon completion of antibiotics...

During the last decade there has been a craze for the percutaneous edge-to-edge mitral valve repair technique with the Mitra-Clip device. This is an alternative treatment to mitral valve surgery for severe mitral regurgitation. In France, this device is aimed at poor candidates for mitral valve surgery. It involves intra-cardiac prosthetic material, which exposes them to the risk of bacterial endocarditis. The consequences of this infective disease can be dramatic, especially for these old patients who suffer from multiple comorbidities...