Failure of two-dimensional echocardiography to detect aspergillus endocarditis.
Two-dimensional echocardiography has been shown to be a reliable diagnostic procedure in patients with valvular lesions due to fungal endocarditis. We describe a patient with four-chamber Aspergillus endocarditis localized to the nonvalvular endocardium. In this case, two-dimensional echocardiography failed to demonstrate cardiac abnormalities despite the presence of extensive endomyocardial disease at autopsy. The case emphasizes the diagnostic limitations of two-dimensional echocardiography in the absence of valvular vegetations.
D000328:Adult; D001228:Aspergillosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D004696:Endocarditis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology