Melody Valve Endocarditis Due to Rothia dentocariosa: A Diagnostic Challenge

Abstract

Recently, there have been several advances in the field of adult congenital heart disease, such as the percutaneous pulmonic valve implantation (PPVI) to treat right ventricular outflow obstruction. Complications from this technique are seldom but essential to understand. We present a case of a 37-year-old Caucasian male with complicated congenital heart disease, including prior Melody valve implantation, who presented to our hospital with recurrent episodes of pneumonia of two months duration. He was diagnosed with prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) from an unusual organism, Rothia dentocariosa. He eventually underwent surgical replacement of the infected valve. Our report is the first case of Melody valve endocarditis due to Rothia dentocariosa reported from the United States.