Late prosthetic valve endocarditis with Mycobacterium tuberculosis after the Bentall procedure

Prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) is a rare but severe complication of valve replacement surgery, with an incidence rate of 0.3-1.2% per patient-year. At present, staphylococci are the predominant causative microorganism of PVE. Herein, we report a confirmed case of late PVE in a mechanical aortic valve caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

A 32-year-old immunocompetent man with recurrent fever and 5-kg weight loss had a history of having undergone the Bentall procedure due to congenital heart disease. Nine years after the operation, he developed a paravalvular abscess in the mechanical aortic valve, presented with evidence of pulmonary tuberculosis on CT scan and was diagnosed with tuberculous endocarditis. This case report highlights a rare and non-negligible example of tuberculous endocarditis involving a mechanical valve.

Tuberculous PVE should be considered in patients with a history of valve replacement, recurrent fever, unexplained weight loss, pulmonary tuberculosis and meaningful valvular findings on echocardiogram.