title: Infectious endocarditis during pregnancy, problems in the decision-making process: a case report.
abstract: Infective endocarditis in pregnancy has a low incidence, often being associated with a previous history of rheumatic or congenital heart disease. In most reports the disease tends to run a subacute course and to appear more frequently in the third trimester of pregnancy. We present the case of a 36-year-old woman with large vegetations on the mitral valve due to infective endocarditis detected at the 32(nd) week of her first pregnancy. The difficulties in selecting the appropriate management strategy, particularly optimal time and mode of delivery, optimal time and type of valve surgery, are emphasized.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Experimental Medicine, Section of Cardiovascular Disease, Brescia Study University, P.le Spedali Civili,1-Brescia, Italy. enrico.vizzardi@tin.it
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vizzardi
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Cicco
authors.forename: Gregoriana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zanini
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: D'Aloia
authors.forename: Pompilio
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Faggiano
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lo Russo
authors.forename: Ermanna
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chiari
authors.forename: Livio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dei Cas