title: Culture-negative endocarditis due to Bartonella quintana.
abstract: Bartonella spp. was first described as a possible cause of culture-negative endocarditis in 1993, and has since emerged as a significant cause of this condition worldwide. We describe a complicated case of culture-negative endocarditis in an immune-competent male patient, which was confirmed on resected heart valves to have been caused by Bartonella quintana by broad-range 16S ribosomal RNA polymerase chain reaction. The objective of this report is to highlight the clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic challenges of Bartonella endocarditis.
authors.affiliation: Ampath National Laboratory Services, Cape Town, South Africa. moodleym@ampath.co.za.
authors.forename: Vineshree Mischka
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Moodley
authors.forename: Tienie T S
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Zeeman
authors.forename: C H Johan
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Van Greune
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Corcoran