Chronic Q fever infective endocarditis: a case report

Q fever is an epidemic disease caused by the Coxiella burnetii infection. It can manifest clinically as an acute or chronic disease, with chronic infections being more common. Q fever endocarditis is the most common manifestation of chronic infection and usually occurs in patients with previous valvular heart disease like in our present study, a case of Q fever endocarditis that occurred in background of tetralogy of Fallot surgical repair. However, Q fever endocarditis is difficult to diagnose clinically and may lead to very serious or even life-threatening outcomes if not diagnosed promptly. In the present study, accurate diagnosis and treatment were achieved by 18F-FDG PET/CT combined with detection of the Q fever serological antibodies.