[Abiotrophia defectiva: an unusual cause of endocarditis]

This article reports one of the rare cases of Abiotrophia defectiva endocarditis with no underlying valvular condition. A sixty-three years old man was hospitalized because of complicated respiratory sepsis with acute heart failure. Hemocultures and echocardiogram enabled the diagnosis of A. defectiva endocarditis. The clinical course was favorable under combined aminoglycoside and cephalosporin. The patient ultimately required valvular replacement. A. defectiva is a micro-organism part of the Nutritionnaly Variant Streptococci (NVS) associated with a high mortality rate and often resistant to antibiotics. Although A. defectiva is a rare cause of endocarditis, prompt recognition and appropriate antibiotic treatment are essential to clinical course.