Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0014118 (endocarditis)
 15,629 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Patients usually provisionally diagnosed as having typhoid fever or pneumonia are regularly admitted to the Rietfontein Fever Hospital suffering from psittacosis. The main symptoms are intense headache, chills and fever and an irritating non-productive cough. Later most patients develop signs of pneumonitis most clearly seen on radiographic examination. An important clue to the diagnosis is a history of contact with birds, most often budgerigars and more recently cockatiels. The diagnosis may be confirmed by the isolation of Chlamydia psittaci, the causative organism, but more usually reliance is placed on the results of serological tests revealing the development of chlamydial antibodies. None of the patients in this series developed serious complications, but if not treated psittacosis sufferers may develop severe pneumonitis, hepatitis and gastro-enteritis; the mortality rate is up to 20%. A rare but fatal complication is chlamydial endocarditis, presenting with the signs and symptoms of subacute bacterial endocarditis, but giving repeated negative blood cultures. The illness responds specifically to treatment with tetracycline antibiotics within 48 hours. Chlamydial infections are widespread among avian species. In the RSA most cases of psittacosis have resulted from contact with budgerigars and cockatiels, but outbreaks have been associated with imported batches of birds including South American parrots and Australian finches, emphasizing the need for vigilance at seaports.
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PMID:Psittacosis in the RSA. 370 61

A 38-year-old Caucasian man with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus type 2 was admitted with a 1-week duration of fevers, chills, and a non-productive cough. He had a left ischiorectal abscess 1 month prior to admission. Physical examination revealed caries on a left upper molar and a well-healed scar on the left buttock, but no heart murmur or evidence of micro-emboli. Blood cultures grew Streptococcus agalactiae. A transesophageal echocardiogram revealed a mobile mass in the right ventricle that attached to chordae tendineae without valvular disease or dysfunction. A computed tomography (CT) with contrast revealed the mass within the right ventricle, a left lung cavitary lesion, and a splenic infarction. He was initially treated with penicillin G for a week. Subsequently, ceftriaxone was continued for a total of 8 weeks. A follow-up CT showed no evidence of right ventricular mass 8 weeks after discharge. This is the first reported case of S. agalactiae mural infective endocarditis in a structurally normal heart.
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PMID:Streptococcus agalactiae mural infective endocarditis in a structurally normal heart. 2712 71

We report a case of isolated pulmonary valve endocarditis in a 47-year-old woman without predisposing factors. She had episodes of low-grade fever and non-productive cough and was initially diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia. With antibiotic treatment, her condition improved transiently, but she had repeated respiratory events. Forty days after her first visit, she complained of severe dyspnea. Echocardiography revealed a large vegetation adhering to the pulmonary valve and she was diagnosed with isolated pulmonary valve endocarditis. Surgical treatment was selected because antibiotic treatment was not effective. The main pulmonary artery was transected above the annulus and the infected valve was excised. To avoid contact of the prosthetic valve with the infected pulmonary annulus, a stentless bioprosthesis was interposed between the transected parts of the pulmonary trunk. Two years after the surgery, the patient is stable with no sign of infection.
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PMID:Surgical case of isolated pulmonary valve endocarditis in a patient without predisposing factors. 2858 81