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The present case involves a 48-year-old male patient who presented with Pasteurella multocida endocarditis associated with preexisting mitral valve stenosis. A mitral valve replacement was successfully performed after 3 weeks of intravenous infusion with antibiotics. Pasteurella multocida is a normal inhabitant of the oral cavity of dogs and cats. Therefore, people who have frequent contact with these animals should be examined periodically for signs of infection.

We report a case of herpes simplex viral (HSV) pneumonia as a post-CABG pulmonary complication in a 70-year-old man. Chest radiography on postoperative day 9, showed a glass-like shadow and pleural effusion in the left lung field, and the man's condition began deteriorating rapidly. Bronchofiberscopy to detect the pathogen and a bronchoalveolar lavage with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) yielded a definitive diagnosis of HSV pneumonia. Once therapy with acyclovir was begun, his condition improved markedly. Our case suggests that 1 viral pulmonary infection should be considered as a possible cause in postoperative cardiac patients with unexplained progressive pulmonary infiltrates, and 2 DNA amplification using PCR is rapid--it can be completed within 1 day--and sensitive and specific in diagnosing such infections.

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