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Query: UMLS:C0018801 (heart failure)
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Only 40 years ago infectious endocarditis (IE) was lethal in most cases. Due to the development of numerous antibiotics and continuous improvements in heart valve surgery, a wide range of possibilities for therapy and prophylaxis of IE are available. The prognosis depends essentially on rapid and relevant diagnosis, which should be followed by immediate and adequate therapy consisting of general measures for treatment of septicaemic disease and specific antibiotic therapy. As multiple complications may develop during IE, careful follow-up by clinical, laboratory and mechanical examinations is necessary to decide whether surgical intervention is urgently indicated or not. In case of complications such as myocardial failure, septicaemic embolism or acute renal failure, as well as septicaemia persisting for more than 72 hours in spite of antibiotic treatment, immediate valve replacement is usually indispensable. Furthermore, large vegetations found by echocardiography, or infections caused by staphylococci, gramnegative bacteria or fungi are arguments for early surgery. For most of the IE pathogens the antibiotic treatment concept is nowadays widely acknowledged. Penicillin-sensitive streptococci are treated with a combination of penicillin S and an amino-glycoside (streptomycin). If the penicillin-MBK is very low, combined treatment can usually be abandoned. In patients allergic to penicillin, treatment with lincomycin has advantages over vancomycin or cephalosporins. In enterococcal IE, ampicillin plus aminoglycoside is the combination of choice. Streptomycin has preference over gentamicin here only if the enterococci are not streptomycin-resistant. If penicillin allergy is evident, the new beta-lactam antibiotic imipenem offers a way out of the present therapy dilemma. For penicillin-sensitive staphylococci a combination of penicillin-G with gentamicin given over 6 weeks is recommended. In case of penicillin allergy, cefazolin or vancomycin may provide a substitute for penicillin. In penicillin-resistant staphylococci the combination of oxacillin or flucloxacillin with gentamicin is established. Fungal endocarditis can be treated with a combination of amphotericin-B and flucytosin. Cure without surgery, however, is rare. For the large remaining number of pathogens which are less frequently responsible for IE, antibiotic management depends on sensitivity test in vitro, as the sensitivity of pathogens may vary widely. Though not only groups of patients with high infection rates are widely known, but also the events provoking the infections, the prophylaxis of IE continues to be inadequate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:[Therapy and prevention of infectious endocarditis]. 651 54

Fungal endocarditis (FE) is rare in children and does not usually occur in structurally normal hearts. The commonest causative agent is Candida albicans. We report a 5-year-old female child presenting with high-grade fever and cardiac failure. Anemia, leukocytosis and high CRP were found, but bacterial blood culture was sterile. There was no response to antimicrobial agents. Two-dimensional echocardiography revealed a large heterogeneous mass attached to the right ventricle and tricuspid valve. Provisional diagnosis of FE was made, which was confirmed by growth of Candida tropicalis in blood culture. Liposomal amphotericin B was started, followed by radical curative surgery including excision of the entire vegetation with total tricuspid valve excision. Histopathology and culture of the resected vegetation confirmed the diagnosis. The patient was given antifungal therapy for a total of 7 weeks, including 2 weeks of post-operative treatment, following which she was afebrile.
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PMID:Candida tropicalis endocarditis: Treatment in a resource-poor setting. 2123

In recent decades the incidence of Candida endocarditis has increased dramatically. Despite the application of surgery and antifungal therapy, Candida endocarditis remains a life-threatening infection with significant morbidity and mortality. We report a 37-year-old male drug abuser presenting with high fever, chest pain, loss of appetite and cardiac failure. His echocardiography revealed mobile large tricuspid valve vegetations. Fungal endocarditis was confirmed by culturing of the resected vegetation showing mixed growth of Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis, although three consecutive blood cultures were negative for Candida species. Phenotypic identification was reconfirmed by sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS rDNA) region. The patient was initially treated with intravenous fluconazole (6 mg kg(-1) per day), followed by 2 weeks of intravenous amphotericin B deoxycholate (1 mg kg(-1) per day). Although MICs were low for both drugs, the patient's antifungal therapy combined with valve replacement failed, and he died due to respiratory failure.
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PMID:Endocarditis due to a co-infection of Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis in a drug abuser. 2397 85

We present the case of a 65-year-old immunocompromised male with a history of kidney transplantation, diabetes, coronary artery bypass, and cardiac resynchronization therapy device implantation who was finally diagnosed with an unusual form of infective endocarditis due to co-infection of fungal and bacterial pathogens. He was afebrile at the time of admission and presented with decompensated heart failure and pneumonia. A spleen abscess was discovered incidentally and prompted us to search for a cardiac source of emboli. Culture of the suppurative fluid drained percutaneously from the abscess was positive for Enterococcus and Aspergillus species. Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography revealed a mobile vegetation attached to the scarred myocardium of anterior septum - an unusual location for intracardiac vegetations. With regard to the prohibitive risk for redo surgery, the patient was managed medically with broad spectrum antimicrobial therapy. Finally, the patient died with severe sepsis. <Learning objective: Immunocompromised patients are at risk of opportunistic infections such as fungal endocarditis. Co-infection of fungal and bacterial pathogens is very rare. Early diagnosis of such infections needs a high level of clinical suspicion due to its non-specific presentations and culture negative essence. Many patients are afebrile during the disease course. Fungal endocarditis is characterized by large vegetations highly prone to systemic embolization even in the early stages of infection. Mortality is high despite optimal antimicrobial and timely surgery.>.
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PMID:Co-infection with bacterial and fungal endocarditis at scar tissue in an immunocompromised patient. 3099 56