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Query: UMLS:C0023241 (Legionella)
 6,990 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Prosthetic valve endocarditis due to Legionella pneumophila occurred in a woman who had aortic and mitral valve replacements with porcine xenografts. During surgery for persistent fever and aortic regurgitation due to presumed endocarditis, she had vegetations involving both the aortic and mitral valve prostheses with a circumferential abscess of the aortic annulus. Cultures, Dieterle stain, and direct fluorescent antibody stain of valve tissue, and subsequent measurements of serum antibody levels confirmed L. pneumophila as the infecting organism. This infection occurred in the absence of pneumonia. Legionella pneumophila must be considered a potential cause of culture-negative prosthetic valve endocarditis and should be sought in appropriate clinical circumstances.
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PMID:Prosthetic valve endocarditis caused by Legionella pneumophila. 670 45

Prosthetic valve endocarditis is a potential complication of valve replacement surgery and warrants prompt diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Thus, the blood culture in addition to providing an etiological organism is important in establishing appropriate antibiotic therapy. A case of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) is presented with repeatedly negative blood cultures at a community hospital and refractory to prolonged therapy with standard antibiotic regimens. Appropriate workup eventually identified the causative organism as Legionella pneumophila, and antimicrobial therapy directed against Legionella combined with a repeat valve replacement effectively treated this case. Aspects of culture-negative PVE including the microbiology and etiology are discussed. Legionella endocarditis represents an important cause of culture negative PVE and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of culture negative PVE refractory to standard antimicrobial therapy.
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PMID:Prosthetic valve endocarditis due to Legionella pneumophila. 901 82