A rare localization in right-sided endocarditis diagnosed by echocardiography: a case report.
BACKGROUND
Right-sided endocarditis occurs predominantly in intravenous drug users, patients with pacemakers or central venous lines and with congenital heart diseases. The vast majority of cases involve the tricuspid valve.


METHODS
A case of a 31-year-old woman with intravenous drug abuse who had a right-sided vegetation attached to the muscular bundle of the right ventricle is presented. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a vegetation in the right ventricular outflow tract. Transesophageal echocardiography clearly showed that the 1.8 cm vegetation was not adherent to the pulmonary valve but attached to a muscular bundle.


CONCLUSIONS
Our case points to an unusual location of right-sided endocarditis in intravenous drug users. It confirms that TTE remains an easy and highly sensitive first-line examination for the diagnosis of right-sided endocarditis.
Cosson
Stéphane
S
Service de Cardiologie, Hôpital Lariboisière, Paris, France. stephane.cosson@lrb.ap-hop-paris.fr
Kevorkian
Jean-Philippe
JP
Milliez
Paul
P
Beaufils
Philippe
P
Cohen
Ariel
A
D000328:Adult; D004452:Echocardiography; D004696:Endocarditis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D035583:Rare Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications