Acute disseminated histoplasmosis and endocarditis

Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. 1998 Jan-Feb;40(1):19-22. doi: 10.1590/s0036-46651998000100005.

Abstract

Acute disseminated histoplasmosis is a frequent condition in HIV carriers. Thirty-five cases of endocarditis caused by Histoplasma capsulatum have been reported in international literature, and all these descriptions correspond to a context of subacute disseminated histoplasmosis. This paper presents the case of a HIV-positive patient with fever, dyspnea, weight loss, vomiting and polyadenopathies to whom histoplasmosis was diagnosed following blood-cultures and isolation of the agent responsible for cutaneous lesions, and in whom aortic-valve vegetations were found during an echocardiogram. The patient was treated with amphotericin B and had a good outcome; subsequent echocardiograms showed no vegetations. Literature on the subject is reviewed, with special emphasis on diagnosis and treatment of previously described cases.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / complications*
  • Acute Disease
  • Adult
  • Amphotericin B / therapeutic use
  • Antifungal Agents / therapeutic use
  • Endocarditis / complications*
  • Endocarditis / diagnosis
  • Endocarditis / drug therapy
  • Histoplasmosis / complications*
  • Histoplasmosis / diagnosis
  • Histoplasmosis / drug therapy
  • Humans
  • Male

Substances

  • Antifungal Agents
  • Amphotericin B