[Infective endocarditis appearing with meningeal signs]

The authors present the case of a 12-year old girl with infective endocarditis. Following an initial three-day period of malaise, she was admitted to the hospital with meningeal signs. The clinical symptoms and the results of the laboratory examinations, lumbar puncture and hemoculture supported the diagnosis of Staphylococcus sepsis and meningitis. The initiation of antimicrobial therapy resulted in temporary improvement while a systolic cardiac murmur appeared. Transthoracal echocardiogram raised the diagnosis of mitral valve endocarditis. Due to the subsequent deterioration in her condition, the patient was referred to the Pediatric Heart Center of the Gottsegen György National Institute of Cardiology where transoesophageal echocardiogram confirmed the diagnosis. The vegetations were removed by extracorporeal cardiac surgery including mitral valve plasty. Retrospectively, septic embolisation caused multiplex brain infarcts were identified by cranial MRI scan as the underlying cause of the initial clinical symptoms and liquor results. Following her recovery, patient remained well with some mild residual mitral regurgitation and without any residual neurological symptoms.