[Lactobacillus acidophilus endocarditis].
BACKGROUND
Lactobacillus is a commensal germ found in the buccal cavity, the digestive tract and the vagina. Usually non-pathogenic except in case of dental caries, it can occasionally be the causal agent in severe endocarditis.


METHODS
A 70-year-old woman developed endocarditis on an aortic valve bioprosthesis. Lactobacillus acidophilus was isolated from blood cultures of the valve after surgery.


CONCLUSIONS
Forty-four cases of Lactobacillus endocarditis have been reported in the literature to date. Mortality is high (26%). The main difficulty in treatment is germ tolerance to penicillin and aminosides found in all cases. Cure requires high dose parenteral antibiotics and surgery in many cases (26%).
Service de Cardiologie, CHU Dupuytren, Limoges.
J P
JP
Penot
P
P
Lagrange
N
N
Darodes
M C
MC
Ploy
T
T
Violet
P
P
Virot
L
L
Mansour
J
J
Bensaid
D000368:Aged; D001021:Aortic Valve; D001705:Bioprosthesis / Q000382:microbiology*; D004697:Endocarditis, Bacterial / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007779:Lactobacillus acidophilus / Q000302:isolation & purification*
Endocardite à Lactobacillus acidophilus.