Infectious endocarditis caused by Haemophilus parainfluenza
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5935/2764-734X.e20240236Keywords:
Endocarditis, Bacterial, Haemophilus Infections, Haemophilus parainfluenzae, Case ReportsAbstract
Infective endocarditis caused by bacteria from the HACEK group - Haemophilus spp. (excluding Haemophilus influenza), Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Cardiobacterium hominis, Eikenella corrodens and Kingella kingae - is rare; affected patients are usually young and present with predisposing factors, such as heart disease. The infection is characterized by an insidious clinical course of subacute presentation, with an average delay in diagnosis of one to three months, which may be related to the formation of larger valve vegetations and a consequent increased risk of embolization. This report describes a case of a young, previously healthy girl whose primary clinical complaint was headache and fever. The diagnostic suspicion arose after Haemophilus parainfluenza positive blood culture and was confirmed by the echocardiographic visualization of a vegetation adhering to the posterior leaflet of the mitral valve. There was a good clinical response to treatment with ceftriaxone for six weeks; however, after three months, surgery for valve replacement was necessary.
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