Fulminant biventricular multivalvular infective endocarditis in complex congenital heart disease: a case report

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a major issue during follow-up of adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD), leading to significant mortality.

A 37-year-old woman with transposition of great arteries and previous Mustard operation developed a drug-resistant pneumonia shortly after a pacemaker implant procedure performed at a local hospital. After referral to the ACHD centre, the patient was diagnosed with multivalvular IE with biventricular involvement by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. On admission, the patient was already in acute respiratory distress and presented both systemic and pulmonary embolization. Despite adequate treatment was promptly started, the patient developed multiorgan failure.

This case depicts a particularly aggressive of infective endocarditis forms caused with biventricular involvement and multiple embolization. Patients with congenital heart disease are at high risk of IE with adverse impact on the prognosis. Early recognition and treatment are the keys to improve prognosis. Therefore, suspicion should be high, especially following invasive procedure, which should be preferably performed at ACHD specialized centres.