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Published on: January 7, 2019

Prosthetic aortic valve endocarditis due to Stenotrophomonas maltophilia complicated by subannular abscess

A Ucak1, O S Goksel, K Inan

  • 1GATA Haydarpasa Training Hospital, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Istanbul, Turkey.

Acta Chirurgica Belgica
|June 18, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia caused a rare subaortic abscess in infective endocarditis. Treatment involved antibiotics and aortic root replacement with resternotomy.

Area of Science:

  • Infectious diseases
  • Cardiovascular surgery
  • Microbiology

Background:

  • Annular abscesses are severe complications of native and prosthetic valve endocarditis.
  • Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an uncommon pathogen causing subaortic abscesses, associated with high mortality.
  • Staphylococcus aureus is the most frequently identified agent in such cases.

Observation:

  • A patient presented with a subaortic abscess one year after aortic root replacement surgery.
  • Stenotrophomonas maltophilia was isolated as the causative agent of the abscess.

Findings:

  • Successful treatment of the endocarditis and subaortic abscess was achieved.
  • Treatment modalities included appropriate antibiotics and surgical intervention (resternotomy with aortic root replacement).

Implications:

  • Highlights Stenotrophomonas maltophilia as a potential pathogen in subaortic abscesses.
  • Emphasizes the importance of considering rare pathogens in complex endocarditis cases.
  • Demonstrates the efficacy of combined medical and surgical management for recurrent subaortic abscesses.

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