Post-cardiac catheterization infective endocarditis with flail mitral valve leaflets: an interesting and rare case

Abstract

Abstract Endocarditis is a life-threatening infection of the endocardium (inner lining of the heart). It usually affects the left-sided valves more than the right-sided valves and presents classically with a new murmur, fever, and peripheral stigmata. Though in the modern era, we have better antibiotics, better diagnostic imaging, and surgery that might cure infectious endocarditis (IE), it still carries significant mortality and morbidity. Here we present a 52-year-old male patient with hypertension and ischemic heart disease who presented with shivering, fever, and confusion for 2 days, fourteen days after cardiac intervention (PCI). Further trans-esophageal echocardiography was done due to the patient’s fulfillment of three minor and one major of Duke's criteria. Trans-esophageal echocardiography revealed flailing posterior mitral valve leaflets, 1.1 x 0.60 cm of vegetation, and severe eccentric mitral regurgitation. The patient was managed with vancomycin and gentamicin and referred to the cardiovascular surgery center. Post-PCI infective endocarditis is a rare and often missed diagnosis, so there should be a high level of suspension for those who present with signs and symptoms compatible with infective endocarditis.