Infective Endocarditis: Severe Complication from a Common Procedure

We describe an Army Officer with infectious endocarditis af-ter being hospitalized with a heat injury while participating in Special Forces Assessment and Selection. A 26-year-old other-wise healthy male presented with a fever, skin lesions, and pain at his IV site after a recent hospitalization. He was admitted on intravenous antibiotics due to suspicion of bacteremia and was eventually diagnosed with MRSA endocarditis. The pa-tient required months of antibiotics and left brachial vein exci-sion for source control. After multiple readmissions for MRSA bacteremia over the following 2 years, the patient was placed on daily prophylactic doxycycline. Due to complications from his condition, the patient was medically retired from the Army. When the tactical setting allows, prehospital providers must practice aseptic techniques and advocate for their patients when other providers lack awareness of the impact of field environments.