title: Austrian syndrome: a case report and review of the literature.
abstract: A usually fit and well 69-year-old woman presented with headache and altered consciousness. Initial clinical findings and investigations were consistent with a diagnosis of pneumococcal meningitis and pneumonia. Cultures of blood and cerebrospinal fluid grew Streptococcus pneumoniae. The patient continued to spike temperatures and developed cardiac failure. A transoesophageal echocardiogram demonstrated a large vegetation of the aortic valve causing severe aortic regurgitation. A diagnosis of Austrian syndrome, the triad of pneumococcal meningitis, pneumonia and endocarditis, was made. The patient has completed a course of appropriate antibiotic therapy and is awaiting aortic valve surgery.
authors.affiliation: Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Foundation Trust, Medicine, Combe Park, Bath, BA1 3NG, UK.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Atkinson
authors.forename: Daniel Xavier
authors.initials: DX
authors.lastname: Augustine
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Easaw