Late prosthetic valve endocarditis due to Cardiobacterium hominis, an unusual complication

We report a case of prosthetic valve endocarditis caused by Cardiobacterium hominis in a patient who had undergone atrial septal defect closure and mitral valve replacement of the heart in 1978. He presented with pyrexia of unknown origin and congestive cardiac failure. Investigations revealed infective endocarditis of prosthetic valve in mitral portion. Blood culture samples grew C. hominis. The patient was empirically started on vancomycin and gentamicin intravenously and ceftriaxone was added after isolation of the organism. Though subsequent blood cultures were negative, patient remained in congestive cardiac failure and died due to complications.     

心脏人工机械瓣相关并发症外科治疗初步经验

目的　总结 15例心脏人工机械瓣相关并发症外科治疗初步经验。方法　本组 15例患者中 ,男 7例 ,女 8例 ,年龄 315 9岁 ,平均 (4 5 .5± 8.0 )岁。术前均明确诊断 ,人工机械瓣心内膜炎 4例 ,单纯主动脉瓣周漏 4例 ,单纯二尖瓣周漏 4例 ,单纯主动脉瓣并二尖瓣周漏 2例 ,二尖瓣栓塞 1例。肺水肿 10例 ,充血性心力衰竭 6例。再次手术距首次手术时间间隔 1个月至 72个月 ,平均 (2 1.9± 18.2 )个月。本组在全麻中度低温体外循环下行再次主动脉瓣替换术 4例 ,再次二尖瓣替换术 2例 ,主动脉瓣周漏修补术 2例 ,二尖瓣周漏修补术 5例 ,主动脉瓣和二尖瓣周漏修补术 2例。同期手术包括主动脉右心室交通残余漏修补术 1例 ,三尖瓣成形术 4例 ,主动脉瓣替换术 1例 ,冠状动脉旁路移植术 1例。结果　手术死亡 5例 (33.3% )。术后低心排、多脏器功能衰竭 (3例 )为死亡主要原因。 1例为劈胸骨时损伤主动脉大出血 ,术后深昏迷死亡 ,中毒性休克死亡 1例。存活 10例 ,随访 ,死亡 1例为再次主动脉瓣替换术后半年瓣膜栓塞 ,余 9例心功能明显改善。结论　人工机械瓣膜病外科治疗值得 ,但手术危险性较高     

Prosthetic valve endocarditis due to Mycobacterium chelonei.

Postoperative prosthetic valve endocarditis due to Mycobacterium chelonei occurred in a man after replacement of the aortic valve. The organism was isolated from blood cultures and from vegetations taken postmortem from the edge of the inserted valve. This is believed to be the first documented report of a mycobacterial endocarditis.     

Bivalvular Bartonella henselae prosthetic valve endocarditis

Prosthetic valve endocarditis is an uncommon manifestation of infection with Bartonella species. Herein, we report a case of Bartonella henselae endocarditis involving prosthetic mitral and aortic valves. The patient had a favorable outcome with combined medical and surgical therapy. Concomitant crescentic glomerulonephritis led to an initial mistaken diagnosis of Wegener's granulomatosis.     

Case report of Streptomyces endocarditis of a prosthetic aortic valve.

We describe the first case of prosthetic valve endocarditis due to a Streptomyces sp. The patient presented with fever, cutaneous embolic lesions, and bacteremia 3 months after aortic valve replacement. Treatment required valve replacement and a long course of parenteral imipenem.     

Endocarditis due to Cardiobacterium hominis.

A case of bacterial endocarditis was caused by Cardiobacterium hominis in a 41-year-old man with mitral and aortic incompetence due to a previous episode of rheumatic fever. The main distinguishing characteristics of C. hominis are described, and the incidence of endocarditis is reviewed. After six weeks of treatment with effective bactericidal chemotherapy a microbiological cure was achieved and the patient successfully underwent mitral valve replacement and aortic valve plication.     

Prosthetic valve endocarditis caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae in a patient with pemphigus vulgaris.

The clinical and bacteriological findings in a case of prosthetic aortic valve endocarditis caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae are presented. The patient died despite adequate medical therapy. This appears to be the first report of endocarditis caused by this species in a prosthetic aortic valve.     

Cardiobacterium hominis endocarditis: two cases and a review of the literature

Cardiobacterium hominis, a member of the HACEK group (Haemophilus parainfluenzae, Haemophilus aphrophilus, and Haemophilus paraphrophilus, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, C. hominis, Eikenella corrodens, and Kingella species), is a rare cause of endocarditis. There are 61 reported cases of C. hominis infective endocarditis in the English-language literature, 15 of which involved prosthetic valve endocarditis. There is one reported case of C. hominis after upper endoscopy and none reported after colonoscopy. Presented here are two cases of C. hominis prosthetic valve endocarditis following colonoscopy and a review of the microbiological and clinical features of C. hominis endocarditis. Patients with C. hominis infection have a long duration of symptoms preceding diagnosis (138±128 days). The most common symptoms were fever (74%), fatigue/malaise (53%), weight loss/anorexia (40%), night sweats (24%), and arthralgia/myalgia (21%). The most common risk factors were pre-existing cardiac disease (61%), the presence of a prosthetic valve (28%), and history of rheumatic fever (20%). Of the 61 cases reviewed here, the aortic valve was infected in 24 (39%) and the mitral valve in 19 (31%) patients. The average duration of blood culture incubation before growth was detected was 6.3 days (range, 2–21 days). Complications were congestive heart failure (40%), central nervous system (CNS) emboli (21%), arrhythmia (16%), and mycotic aneurysm (9%). C. hominis is almost always susceptible to β-lactam antibiotics. Ceftriaxone is recommended by the recently published American Heart Association guidelines. The prognosis of C. hominis native valve and prosthetic valve endocarditis is favorable. The cure rate among 60 patients reviewed was 93% (56/60). For prosthetic valve endocarditis, the cure rate was 16/17 (94%). Valve replacement was required in 27 (45%) cases.     

Prosthetic mitral valve endocarditis due to Ochrobactrum anthropi: case report

We describe a case of infective endocarditis in a prosthetic mitral valve due to Ochrobactrum anthropi. Although O. anthropi is an emerging pathogen in immunocompromised patients, infections with the bacterium have very rarely been documented in healthy hosts, and endocarditis is rare. To our knowledge, only two cases of O. anthropi endocarditis have been reported in the medical literature.     

Fatal Vibrio fetus endocarditis: Report of one case and review of the literature

Summary Clinical, bacteriologic, and autopsy findings in a case of a 67-year-old man confirmed the diagnosis of Vibrio fetus endocarditis of the aortic, mitral, and tricuspid valve. To our knowledge, this is the first case to involve three valves. The bacterial endocarditis was superimposed on an old, probably rheumatic, endocarditis of the aortic valve, with minimal involvement of the mitral and tricuspid valves. A review of the literature indicates that the aortic valve is the most frequent site of V. fetus endocarditis.     

Freestyle stentless bioprosthesis for active aortic infectious endocarditis with undetermined causative organism

A 52-year-old woman developed congestive heart failure and was diagnosed with aortic regurgitation with approximately 20 mm of vegetation located on the noncoronary cusp of the aortic valve. The patient had undergone tooth extraction 3 months earlier, and various antibiotics had been given in the treatment of refractory high fever for 1 month. The damage to the aortic valve extended to the fibrous trigone near the mitral valve, and aggressive debridement of necrotic and infected tissue was done. The excised defect was repaired and reinforced with a pericardial patch, and the Freestyle stentless bioprosthesis was implanted using the full-root technique. Although the causative organism was never isolated, recurrent endocarditis has not occurred during 3 years of follow-up. The Freestyle stentless bioprosthesis was useful in the management of active aortic infectious endocarditis with undetermined causative organism for the prevention of recurrent endocarditis in the early postoperative period.     

Long-term survival of a patient with prosthetic valve endocarditis due toTrichosporon beigelii

A case is described of a 49-year-old man with rheumatic aortic valve disease who developed endocarditis seven years after valvular replacement.Trichosporon beigelii was isolated from the blood, a peripheral thrombus, and the removed prothesis. After two valve prosthesis replacements and prolonged antifungal therapy, the patient survived for four years, but eventually died as a consequence of multiple septic complications due to the same organism. To the authors' knowledge, this is the longest survival time of any reported case ofTrichosporon prosthetic valve endocarditis.     

Emerging infectious endocarditis due to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Scedosporium prolificans</Emphasis>: a model of therapeutic complexity

Scedosporium prolificans is an emerging agent for severe infections. Although among the dematiaceous fungi Scedosporium is the most frequently isolated in blood cultures, Scedosporium endocarditis is rarely reported. We show herein a patient with acute leukaemia who developed S. prolificans endocarditis. Twelve cases were found in an extensive review of the English literature. In six cases (46%), there was predisposing heart conditions such as a prosthetic valve or an intracavitary device. Only 4 patients (31%) were immunocompromised hosts with haematologic neoplasia, solid-organ transplantation or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Exposure to Scedosporium was observed in immunocompetent patients who developed infection while in the community. Scedosporium endocarditis occurred on both sides of the heart. Systemic and pulmonary emboli and other metastatic complications were seen in all of these patients. The overall mortality was 77% and, specifically, all of the immunocompromised hosts and 6 out of 7 patients with mitral or aortic valve endocarditis died. Patients with right-sided endocarditis associated with a removable intracardiac device exhibited a better prognosis. Scedosporium endocarditis, although still rare, is an emerging infection with an ominous prognosis. At the present time, valve replacement or the removal of cardiac devices plus combined antifungal treatment may offer the best possibility of cure.     

Mechanisms of the in vivo inhibition of calcification of bioprosthetic porcine aortic valve cusps and aortic wall with triglycidylamine/mercapto bisphosphonate

Heart valve replacements fabricated from glutaraldehyde (Glut)-crosslinked heterograft materials, porcine aortic valves or bovine pericardium, have been widely used in cardiac surgery to treat heart valve disease. However, these bioprosthetic heart valves often fail in long-term clinical implants due to pathologic calcification of the bioprosthetic leaflets, and for stentless porcine aortic valve bioprostheses, bioprosthetic aortic wall calcification also typically occurs. Previous use of the epoxide-based crosslinker, triglycidyl amine (TGA), on cardiac bioprosthetic valve materials demonstrated superior biocompatibility, mechanics, and calcification resistance for porcine aortic valve cusps (but not porcine aortic wall) and bovine pericardium, vs. Glut-prepared controls. However, TGA preparation did not completely prevent long-term calcification of cusps or pericardium. Herein we report further mechanistic investigations of an added therapeutic component to this system, 2-mercaptoethylidene-1,1-bisphosphonic acid (MABP), a custom synthesized thiol bisphosphonate, which has previously been shown in a preliminary report to prevent bioprosthetic heterograft biomaterial calcification when used in combination with initial TGA crosslinking for 7 days. In the present studies, we have further investigated the effectiveness of MABP in experiments that examined: (1) The use of MABP after optimal TGA crosslinking, in order to avoid any competitive interference of MABP-reactions with TGA during crosslinking; (2) Furthermore, recognizing the importance of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in the formation of dystrophic calcific nodules, we have investigated the hypothesis that the mechanism by which MABP primarily functions is through the reduction of ALP activity. Results from cell-free model systems, cell culture studies, and rat subcutaneous implants, show that materials functionalized with MABP after TGA crosslinking have reduced ALP activity, and in vivo have no significant calcification in long-term implant studies. It is concluded that bioprosthetic heart valves prepared in this fashion are compelling alternatives for Glut-prepared bioprostheses.     

Biopsy of the heart valves. 872 cases

In this study, 872 heart valves surgically excised from 810 patients during a period of 5 years (1994 through 1998) were examined pathologically. There was a predominance of aortic (506 patients) versus mitral valves (246 pts.). While aortic valves came more often from men (364) than from women (142), in mitral valves the M:F ratio is 82/164. Isolated calcific aortic stenosis appeared as the most frequent valvular disease (418 pts.), with predominance of its sclerotic-senile type (238 pts.). Mitral stenosis (185 pts.) remains the classical post-rheumatic disease. The relative frequency of a subvalvular stenosing mitral lesion is stressed. The "pure" incompetence of both aortic (70 pts.) and mitral (56 pts.) valve was usually based on valvular myxoid degeneration. An aorto-mitral disease requiring replacement of both valves (51 pts.) presented typically as a post-rheumatic lesion, however, a combination of a post-rheumatic mitral with a degenerative-sclerotic aortic valve disease may be possible. In 30 patients, the valvular replacement was performed for infective endocarditis or a post-IE lesion, mostly of the aortic valve. With the almost non-existence of acute rheumatic fever and with the increasing average age of population in this country, we may expect a long-term decline in mitral valve disease and an increase in aortic valve disease, particularly in the sclerotic type of aortic stenosis.     

Multi-valvular endocarditis

Objective   Seventy-seven cases of native valve infective endocarditis as determined by the Duke criteria, were reviewed to determine the incidence and clinical features of multi-valvular endocarditis.
Methods   Fourteen of 77 patients (18%) had multi-valvular endocarditis most commonly involving the mitral and aortic valves. Staphylococcus aureus (43%) and viridans streptococci (36%) were the most common organisms causing multi-valvular endocarditis.
Results   Definite or probable vegetations were found in 50% of the patients by two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiograph and/or transesophageal echocardiograph, and possible vegetations were detected in 21%. The overall mortality in our series was 21%; 29% underwent valve replacement and 50% were treated medically. The major complications of multi-valvular endocarditis were congestive heart failure (64%), acute renal failure (50%), embolic events (21%), and splenic abscess/infarcts (21%).
Conclusions   Our data suggests complications of multi-valvular endocarditis, compared with uni-valvular endocarditis are similar except for heart failure. Heart failure is statistically more common in multi-valvular endocarditis ( P 0.002).     

Endocarditis in a dog due to infection with a novel Bartonella subspecies.

Vegetative valvular endocarditis involving the aortic and, to a lesser extent, mitral valves was diagnosed echocardiographically in a 3-year-old spayed female Labrador retriever. Historically, the dog had been treated with tetracycline hydrochloride and prednisolone for positive seroreactivity to Ehrlichia canis and antinuclear antigens. Although three aerobic and anaerobic blood cultures failed to grow bacteria, blood cultured simultaneously by the lysis centrifugation technique grew a fastidious, gram-negative organism. Despite an initial therapeutic response, the owner elected euthanasia 17 days later. Necropsy confirmed aortic and mitral valvular endocarditis. Bacteria phenotypically similar to Bartonella species were visualized in the heart valve by light and electron microscopy, and Bartonella DNA from a frozen heart valve was amplified by PCR. Subsequent phenotypic and genotypic characterization of the isolate, including biochemical testing, cellular fatty acid analysis, DNA hybridization, and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene indicated that this organism, which can induce endocarditis in dogs, is a novel Bartonella subspecies containing an insertion sequence unique among currently recognized Bartonella species. The name Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkoffii subsp. nov. will be proposed for this organism.     

Acute aortic valvulitis as an initial presentation of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Valvular involvement in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is not uncommon but patients rarely present with it. The mitral valve is most commonly involved. We report a 36-year-old man who had an episode of acute fever, arthritis, and acute aortic insufficiency with a small vegetation at the tip of the aortic valve mimicking infective endocarditis, proven later to be due to SLE. SLE should be considered as one of the uncommon causes of acute aortic insufficiency.     

Infective endocarditis in Greece: a changing profile. Epidemiological, microbiological and therapeutic data

The epidemiology, and clinical and microbiological spectrum, of infective endocarditis (IE) in Greece was analysed in a prospective 4-year study in a tertiary hospital and a heart surgery centre in Athens. In total, 101 cases of IE (71 men, 30 women, aged 54.4 +/- 17.1 years) were studied, with a follow-up period of 3 months. Seventy-seven cases were definite and 24 possible; 59 involved native valves (native valve endocarditis; NVE), 31 prosthetic valves (prosthetic valve endocarditis; PVE), of which nine were early and 22 late, and 11 permanent pacemakers (pacemaker endocarditis; PME). There was a predominant involvement of aortic (48/101) and mitral (40/101) valves. Seven patients had rheumatic valvular disease, two had mitral valve prolapse, and eight had a previous history of IE. Thirteen and six patients had undergone dental and endoscopic procedures, respectively. In 13 patients, intravenous catheters were used within the 3 months before diagnosis of IE. There were three intravenous drug users among the patients. Staphylococcus aureus was the most important pathogen, isolated in 22% of cases, followed by viridans streptococci (19%) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (16%). Enterococcus spp. were responsible for 3%, HACEK group for 2%, and fungi for 6% of cases. Viridans streptococci were the leading cause of NVE (29%), Staphylococcus epidermidis of PVE (16%), and S. aureus of PME (54.5%). Six of 22 S. aureus and ten of 16 S. epidermidis isolates were methicillin-resistant. Surgical intervention, including total pacemaker removal, was performed in 51.5% of patients. Overall mortality was 16%, but was 29% with PVE, and was significantly higher with medical than with combined surgical and medical therapy (24.5% vs. 8%). Compared with previous studies, there were changing trends in the epidemiology, microbiology, treatment and prognosis of IE in Greece.     

Truffle's revenge: a pig-eating fungus.

A 77-year-old female initially presented with symptomatic mitral valve stenosis involving a bioprosthesis that had been implanted 8 months earlier for myxomatous mitral valve disease and severe valvular regurgitation. The patient was taken for a second mitral valve replacement due to stenosis. Intraoperatively, the bioprosthetic mitral valve was noted to have an unusual clot-like mass on the atrial side. Initial fungal smears were positive for yeast stains, and pathology revealed extensive colonization by thick filamentous fungus with apparent true hyphae, pseudohyphae, and yeast forms. The fungus was identified as Hormographiella aspergillata, the asexual form of Coprinus cinereus, a common inky cap mushroom that grows in the lawn. She was treated with 6 weeks of liposomal amphotericin B and then switched to voriconazole for long-term (lifelong) suppressive therapy in the setting of a new mechanical mitral valve. The only other reported case of infective endocarditis caused by a Coprinus species occurred in a 53-year-old man who had developed native aortic valve fungal endocarditis and died [J Med Microbiol (1971);4(3):370-4]. The valve isolate was identified as probable C. cinereus.