Abstract
A 74-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital due to back pain and a low-grade fever lasting for several months. Two years previously, the patient had undergone replacement of a mechanical aortic valve for aortic stenosis. Two weeks later, she suffered from sudden right lower quadrant abdominal pain followed by consciousness disturbance and hypotension. Although a transthoracic echocardiogram showed only mitral valve calcification, blood samples were positive for methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, suggesting septic shock, and the patient died two weeks later. Autopsy specimens revealed mitral valve vegetation (Picture A, arrow) with massive perimitral valvular abscesses (Picture A, arrowheads) extending into the adjacent left ventricular myocardium configured as massive myocardial abscesses (Picture B, arrows); however, there was no evidence of infection around the mechanical aortic valve. The organisms most frequently associated with myocardial abscesses are Candida and Staphylococcus aureus (1), and the clinical symptoms may be obscure and not specific as observed in our case (2).
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
