Bacterial Endocarditis Caused by Abiotrophia defectiva in a Healthy Adult: A Case Report with Literature Review / 대한임상미생물학회지

Infective endocarditis caused by Abiotrophia defectiva is rarely encountered. A 67-year-old male transferred from a local hospital presented with severe dyspnea and pulmonary edema. Preoperative transthoracic echocardiography revealed severe mitral regurgitation with large vegetation. Blood cultures grew A. defectiva, a gram positive, nutritionally deficient streptococcus variant. Emergent mitral valve replacement through right thoracotomy was performed, and after completing six weeks of antibiotic combination therapy (vancomycin, ampicillin, and gentamicin), the patient recovered fully. Because of the need for prompt surgical treatment and long-term antibiotic therapy and lack of laboratory experience with the organism, physicians and laboratory workers should pay close attention to the possibility of A. defectiva infective endocarditis when gram positive cocci are detected in blood cultures.

Endocarditis infecciosa por Abiotrophia defectiva diagnosticada por espectrometría de masas (MALDI-TOF MS) en Argentina / Infective endocarditis by Abiotrophia defectiva diagnosed by mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) in Argentina

We report the case of a 63-year-old woman with congestive heart failure due to a bicuspid aortic valve and severe aortic stenosis. The patient had a febrile syndrome with positive blood cultures for Abiotrophia defectiva, Transesophageal echocardiogram revealed the presence of paravalvular abscess, which was treated by a successful valve replacement. The patient received appropriate antibiotic therapy with intravenous vancomycin, leading to a successful response. The use of MALDI-TOF MS as a rapid and specific method for the microbiological diagnosis is discussed in the following report.

Se presenta el caso clínico de una mujer de 63 años de edad con antecedentes de una aorta bicúspide y estenosis aórtica grave, con una insuficiencia cardíaca descompensada. La paciente tuvo un síndrome febril con hemocultivos positivos para Abiotrophia defectiva. Se constató por un ecocardiograma transesofágico la presencia de un absceso paravalvular, por lo cual se realizó un reemplazo valvular en forma exitosa. Recibió terapia antimicrobiana intravenosa con vancomicina, con buena respuesta terapéutica. Se discute la utilización del MALDI-TOF MS como un método rápido y específico para el diagnóstico microbiológico.

A Case of Infective Endocarditis caused by Abiotrophia defectiva in Korea / 감염과화학요법

Abiotrophia defectiva, a nutritionally variant streptococci can cause bacteremia, brain abscess, septic arthritis and in rare cases, infective endocarditis, which accounts for 5-6% of all cases. A. defectiva is characteristically difficult to diagnose and the mortality, morbidity and complication rates are high. Here, we discuss a case of infective endocarditis caused by A. defectiva. A 62-year-old female had previously undergone prosthetic valve replacement 6 years prior to admission. She developed infective endocarditis after tooth extraction. Her endocarditis was successfully treated with antimicrobial therapy and mitral valve replacement surgery. This is the first case of infective endocarditis caused by A. defectiva reported in Korea. This case shows that A. defectiva could be considered as a causative organism of infective endocarditis in Korea.

Uncommon Presentation of Infective Endocarditis / Lao Medical Journal

@#Diagnosis of infective endocarditis is challenging as the clinical diversity of the disease sometimes misleads clinicians in the recognition, correct diagnosis and rapid treatment, which are important to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with this disease. We report the case of a 14-year-old girl who presented with left axillary pain and fever. She was eventually diagnosed with infective endocarditis caused by Abiotropia defectiva, complicated by a large saccular aneurysm of the left axillary artery.@*@#