Ocular manifestations in subacute bacterial endocarditis

ABSTRACT

Subacute Bacterial Endocarditis [SBE] is a flammable bacterial infection of the endocardium and usually builds on a pre-existing heart disease. Ocular events are a particularly rare complication that occurs in a child. A 10 year old patient having a history of recurrent tonsillitis and hospitalized in pediatric for kidney failure, shows a decrease in visual acuity reduced to finger counting at 1 meter. Ophthalmologic examination revealed papilledema, premacular hemorrhage, Roth spots and several intraretinal hemorrhages in both eyes and the presence of a segmental vasculitis in the left eye. Under etiological assessement, a transthoracic echocardiography was performed retaining the diagnosis of infective endocarditis. Blood culture isolated viridans streptococci. The patient received appropriate systemic antibiotics. Two months later, the evolution was marked by the recovery of visual acuity to 10/10 and net regression both papilledema as hemorrhagic lesions. Although rheumatic fever has become an exceptional condition in developed countries, it may still be a rheumatic valve that is grafted sepsis. In infective endocarditis, several ophthalmologic manifestations have been described in the literature. They result for most of infectious emboli in the retinal vessels and in some cases may reveal endocarditis. Besides vital prognosis engaged in bacterial endocarditis, visual functional prognosis may also be threatened by serious eye damage. Thus, an eye examination