Brucella endocarditis--case report and literature review.
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.
Ferreira
Pedro
P
Serviço de Cardiologia do Hospital São Teotónio, Viseu, Portugal. pedro_cferreira@netcabo.pt
Gama
Pedro
P
Correia
Jorge
J
Nunes
Luís
L
Pipa
João
J
Nascimento
Celeste
C
Alexandre
João Carlos
JC
Henriques
Pedro
P
Santos
Jorge Oliveira
JO
D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D004697:Endocarditis, Bacterial / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male