Infective endocarditis in a child caused by Cardiobacterium hominis after right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction using an expanded tetrafluoroethylene conduit.

Abstract

Cardiobacterium hominis, a member of the HACEK group of organisms, is a rare cause of endocarditis. We report a case of infective endocarditis caused by C. hominis in a male child who had undergone right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) reconstruction using an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene conduit for tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia. Two days before admission, the patient suffered from exertional shortness of breath. Right ventricular hypertension was confirmed and RVOT stenosis was suspected based on the echocardiography findings. A CT scan revealed vegetation above the cusp of the conduit. An emergency operation was performed to avoid a pulmonary embolism due to large friable vegetation. C. hominis was cultured from the blood and the vegetation, prompting a diagnosis of prosthetic valve endocarditis. The patient was discharged after a 6-week course of intravenous ceftriaxone therapy.

• Authors: Yoshiyuki Maekawa, Takahiko Sakamoto, Kentaroh Umezu, Noburoh Ohashi, Yorikazu Harada
• Journal: General thoracic and cardiovascular surgery (Gen Thorac Cardiovasc Surg) Vol. 59 Issue 6 Pg. 429-32 (Jun 2011) ISSN: 1863-6713 [Electronic] Japan
• PMID: 21674312 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Anti-Bacterial Agents
• Fluorocarbons
• Ceftriaxone
• tetrafluoroethylene

Topics

• Anti-Bacterial Agents (administration & dosage)
• Cardiac Surgical Procedures (adverse effects, methods)
• Cardiobacterium (isolation & purification)
• Ceftriaxone (administration & dosage)
• Child, Preschool
• Diagnosis, Differential
• Endocarditis, Bacterial (drug therapy, etiology, microbiology)
• Fluorocarbons
• Follow-Up Studies
• Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections (drug therapy, etiology, microbiology)
• Humans
• Injections, Intravenous
• Male
• Prosthesis-Related Infections (diagnosis, drug therapy, microbiology)
• Tomography, X-Ray Computed
• Ventricular Outflow Obstruction (surgery)