Infective Endocarditis Presenting as Acute Abdominal Pain

Abstract

Splenic infarction and abscess resulting from infective endocarditis are unusual. This paper reports a rare case of a young male presenting with symptoms of left upper quadrant pain and fever. Infective endocarditis complicated by splenic infarction and abscess was diagnosed by transthoracic echocardiography. Computed tomographic scan of the abdomen and two separate blood cultures showed Streptococcus viridans. However, the culture of mitral valve vegetation showed no growth, which may have been due to the pre-operative empiric antibiotic therapy in the previous week. The patient was successfully treated with mitral valve replacement and intravenous antibiotic administration.