[Acute Corynebacterium diphtheriae aortic endocarditis with negative blood cultures]

Acute endocarditis with negative blood culture is a challenge requiring close cooperation between several specialists.

A 15-year-old boy presented with an acute aortic endocarditis due to Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Blood cultures were negative due to an empiric anti-infective therapy. Valvular replacement with a mechanical prosthesis failed to cure the sepsis, which resolved after a cryopreserved allograft implantation.

This case underlines the efficiency of the highly specialized bacteriological centers and the advantages of using a cryopreserved allograft during the septic state.