Penicillium endocarditis following open heart surgery and prosthetic valve insertion

Abstract

Two instances of postoperative prosthetic heart valve endocarditis caused by a Penicillium species occurred in a man and in a woman after replacement of aortic and aortic and mitral valves, respectively. Prosthetic cardiac valve fungal endocarditis has been reported in 33 patients prior to the present report; in all but four instances infection was caused by a Candida species or by an Aspergillus species. All reported patients with adequately documented prosthetic valve fungal endocarditis have died. An inordinately high incidence of males is noted among patients with fungal prosthetic heart valve infection. The basis for the apparently enhanced susceptibility of males to such infection remains to be clarified.