Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, a gram-negative bacterium ubiquitous in soil, water and sewage, is a rare cause of endocarditis in children. The first case of Acinetobacter endocarditis in an infant is described. This patient had underlying tetralogy of Fallot with absent pulmonary valve. A review of the literature in English revealed only four other cases of Acinetobacter endocarditis in children; three of whom had underlying congenital heart disease. Like the other reported cases, this patient responded well to antibiotic treatment. Subsequently this patient underwent corrective cardiac surgery but died of post-operative complications.
Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) endocarditis is a rare but potentially lethal condition. Only ten cases have been reported in the English literature. This report describes an 8-month-old Malay child with a ventricular septal defect who developed Hib endocarditis and died after 4 weeks of hospitalization. The literature is reviewed and previously reported cases summarized.
We present an interesting case of late-onset intracranial bleeding (ICB) as a complication of Streptococcus gordonii causing infective endocarditis. A previously healthy young woman was diagnosed with infective endocarditis. While she was already on treatment for 2 weeks, she had developed seizures with a localising neurological sign. An urgent non-contrasted CT brain showed massive left frontoparietal intraparenchymal bleeding. Although CT angiogram showed no evidence of active bleeding or contrast blush, massive ICB secondary to vascular complication of infective endocarditis was very likely. An urgent decompressive craniectomy with clot evacuation was done immediately to release the mass effect. She completed total 6 weeks of antibiotics and had postoperative uneventful hospital stay despite having a permanent global aphasia as a sequel of the ICB.