A case report of eustachian valve endocarditis due to Salmonella typhimurium in an AIDS patient

AUTHORS

Dima Youssef, Tariq S. Marroush, Farah Tanveer

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The eustachian valve is a normal remnant of the right valve of the sinus venosus, which directs blood in the embryo life from the inferior vena cava into the left atrium through the foramen ovale.
Case report: We report a case of eustachian valve endocarditis (EVE) secondary to Salmonella typhimurium in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The patient also had concomitant Pneumocystis pneumonia.
Discussion: Salmonella bacteremia is one of the AIDS-defining illnesses, and many patients will have recurrent episodes. Salmonella endocarditis on the other hand is rare, but when present, it has a significant morbidity and mortality. EVE rarely requires surgical intervention, and the appropriate antibiotics are the treatment of choice.
Conclusions: We recommend clinicians to consider obtaining an echocardiography in AIDS patients with Salmonella bacteremia to search for possible endocarditis, as it does change the treatment plan.

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