Brucella melitensis endocarditis: successful treatment of an infected prosthetic mitral valve

Abstract

A 38 year old man had a mitral valve replacement for rheumatic calcific mitral stenosis and regurgitation; following this operation he remained well for 10 months. He then presented with cough, abdominal pain, and rigors, and Brucella melitensis type 3 was repeatedly isolated from blood cultures. His clinical condition deteriorated rapidly and an emergency valve replacement was performed. He was then treated with co trimoxazole for 12 mth and made an excellent recovery. This is the first reported case of brucella endocarditis arising de novo on a prosthetic heart valve.