title: [Aspergillus prosthetic aortic valve endocarditis; report of a case].
abstract: A 76-year-old woman, who had underwent aortic valve replacement (AVR) 2 months previously, was admitted to our hospital for persistent pyrexia. Her blood culture results were negative. A new heart murmur was noted on day 19 after admission. Esophageal echocardiography indicated the usual prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) findings, including a hyperechoic area in the prosthetic valve and deterioration of regurgitation. Medication was unable to prevent heart failure on day 39 after admission. Subsequently, we performed redo AVR and annulus debridement, but she died due to complicated sepsis in the postoperative period. As reports of Aspergillus PVE are scarce, its precise prognosis remains unknown. However, given that the prognoses of infective endocarditis related to Aspergillus species are poor, we believe that Aspergillus PVE can be fatal. Therefore, we suggest that Aspergillus PVE should be diagnosed as soon as possible, and that prompt surgery should be performed to improve the patient prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Tokuyama Central Hospital, Shunan, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kamota
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Haruhiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okada
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001228:Aspergillosis / Q000209:etiology*; D004696:Endocarditis / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D016459:Prosthesis-Related Infections; D012086:Reoperation