Enteroviral Infection of a Cardiac Prosthetic Device

Abstract

Viral IE has only been described in animal models. This case is the first reported probable human viral IE. We suggest that a viral etiology should be considered in case of culture negative IE.

Fatal H7N9 pneumonia complicated by viral infection of a prosthetic cardiac valve – An autopsy study

“…Thus the presence of detectable virus RNA in the blood and positive virus culture from the lungs may be attributed to the thrombus on the surface of the mechanical valve in which influenza positive antigen was detected in mononuclear cells. The only previously reported case of viral infection of a cardiac prosthetic valve has been in a 4 month old child who had Coxsackie B2 infection in a prosthetic patch [14]. Infection with influenza virus has resulted in changes from bronchitis to viral pneumonia, often complicated by bacterial infection occurring in the elderly [15][16][17].…”

Molecular Diagnosis of Bacterial Definite Infective Endocarditis by Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

“…Echocardiography is positive in only 50-94% of cases [ 9 ], while blood culture is negative in 2.5-31% of cases of IE and, hence, the infection is left undiagnosed. A negative blood culture test may be attributed to cardiac antibiotic therapy, slow-growing or uncultivable microorganisms, fungi, and/or intracellular microorganisms [ 6 , 7 , 10 ], and low number of microorganisms per volume unit [ 11 ]. Nonetheless, blood culture tests are rendered as a gold standard for IE [ 12 ].…”