title: Brucella endocarditis--case report and literature review.
abstract: Endocarditis is a rare and serious complication of brucellosis and is the main cause of death in this pathology. Diagnosis requires a high level of suspicion and is based on the association of epidemiological, clinical and serological elements. Echocardiography plays a crucial role in early diagnosis, as well as in identifying predisposing heart disease and local complications typical of this pathology. Treatment is not consensual; most authors recommend an early surgical approach, due to the degree of tissue destruction caused by Brucella and the high rate of recurrence. Nevertheless, other authors stress the need for prognostic stratification of each case and support conservative treatment in low-risk cases. This article describes the case of a patient with brucella endocarditis that was treated medically and reviews the relevant literature.
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Cardiologia do Hospital São Teotónio, Viseu, Portugal. pedro_cferreira@netcabo.pt
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gama
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Correia
authors.forename: Luís
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nunes
authors.forename: João
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pipa
authors.forename: Celeste
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nascimento
authors.forename: João Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Alexandre
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Henriques
authors.forename: Jorge Oliveira
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Santos
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D004697:Endocarditis, Bacterial / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male