title: Brucella infective endocarditis. Successful combined medical and surgical therapy.
abstract: Five cases of Brucella infective endocarditis are described involving a native aortic valve, two native mitral valves, a mitral valve bioprosthesis, and a ventricular septal defect patch. The diagnosis of Brucella infective endocarditis was established from the clinical features, with a high Brucella serologic titer in each case. Blood and tissue cultures were positive in four of five patients. Two-dimensional echocardiograms demonstrated moderately large vegetations on the three affected native valves and the patch and also revealed the development of vegetation on the mitral bioprosthesis as the disease progressed. All the patients were successfully treated by combined surgical and medical therapy, the latter consisting of co-trimoxazole, tetracycline, and streptomycin/gentamicin for 6 weeks; the affected valves and the ventricular septal defect patch were all replaced. There were no operative deaths and there has been no recurrence of infection to date. One patient died suddenly of an unknown cause 1 year after the operation.
authors.affiliation: Riyadh Cardiac Centre, Armed Forces Hospital, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: al-Kasab
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: al-Fagih
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: al-Yousef
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ali Khan
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nazzal
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: al-Zaibag
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001021:Aortic Valve; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000628:therapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004338:Drug Combinations / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004452:Echocardiography; D004697:Endocarditis, Bacterial / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005839:Gentamicins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008943:Mitral Valve; D013307:Streptomycin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013420:Sulfamethoxazole / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013752:Tetracycline / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014295:Trimethoprim / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination
chemical_list: D004338:Drug Combinations; D005839:Gentamicins; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination; D014295:Trimethoprim; D013752:Tetracycline; D013420:Sulfamethoxazole; D013307:Streptomycin