title: [ Bacterial endocarditis of the pulmonary valve damaged by thoracic radiotherapy (in Hodgkin's disease)].
abstract: It is well known that radiation therapy to the anterior mediastinum may induce lesions of all cardiac structures. The pericardium is most frequently involved, but atrioventricular conduction disorders, cardiomyopathy, coronary stenosis may also be produced. Aortic, mitral and tricuspid lesions have been described. However, clinical evidence of pulmonic valve involvement has not been reported. Only at necropsy has fibrotic thickening of the pulmonic cusps occasionally been found. We report a case of infective endocarditis of the pulmonic valve in a 53-year-old patient who had undergone thoracic radiation therapy for Hodgkin's disease 31 years previously. Four years prior to the endocarditis he had also been submitted to myocardial revascularisation for critical lesions of the left main and right coronary ostia, and to aortic valve replacement because of stenosis and insufficiency. At that time, the pulmonic valve was fibrotic on echo examination. It is noteworthy that, of all the cardiac valves, the infective process involved only the pulmonic one, which is seldom the target of an infection. To our knowledge this is the first case of bacterial endocarditis of a heart valve that had been previously damaged by radiation therapy.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Medicina e Chirurgia Cardiovascolare, Università di Torino.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Conte
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Orzan
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Figliomeni
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mangiardi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brusca
mesh_terms: D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000601:surgery; D001022:Aortic Valve Insufficiency / Q000601:surgery; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000601:surgery; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000601:surgery; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D004697:Endocarditis, Bacterial / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009204:Myocardial Revascularization; D011664:Pulmonary Valve / Q000528:radiation effects*; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013997:Time Factors
vernacular_title: Endocardite batterica su valvola polmonare danneggiata da radioterapia toracica (per morbo di Hodgkin).