Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis Caused by Bartonella henselae : A Case Report of Molecular Diagnostics Informing Nonsurgical Management.

Identifying the pathogen responsible for culture-negative valve endocarditis often depends on molecular studies performed on surgical specimens. A patient with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome who had an aortic graft, a mechanical aortic valve, and a mitral anulloplasty ring presented with culture-negative prosthetic valve endocarditis and aortic graft infection. Research-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR)/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry on peripheral blood samples identified Bartonella henselae . Quantitative PCR targeting the16S-23S ribonucleic acid intergenic region and Western immunoblotting confirmed this result. This, in turn, permitted early initiation of pathogen-directed therapy and subsequent successful medical management of B henselae prosthetic valve endocarditis and aortic graft infection.