Bartonella quintana pulmonary native valve endocarditis

Bartonella quintana is a well-known cause of blood culture-negative endocarditis; however, pulmonary valve involvement is rare. The case of a 40-year-old African male who presented to the Emergency Department with chest pain, cardiac failure, and a 2-week history of fever is presented. Transoesophageal echocardiography confirmed an atrial septal defect, severe pulmonary insufficiency with large vegetations, severe mitral regurgitation due to anterior leaflet prolapse, and right ventricular dysfunction. Empirical antibiotic therapy was started, and urgent surgical intervention was decided. There were vegetations on the three pulmonary valve leaflets and the mitral valve. Closure of the atrial septal defect, mitral and tricuspid valve repair, pulmonary valve replacement with a biological prosthesis, and infundibuloplasty of the right ventricle were performed. The postoperative course was uneventful. Preoperative blood cultures were negative, and B. quintana was detected through 16S rRNA gene amplification and sequencing in mitral and pulmonary implants. Serology showed positive titers of 1/1260 for both B. quintana and B. henselae. Ceftriaxone and gentamicin were administered for 10 days, followed by oral doxycycline for 12 weeks. A one-year echocardiogram showed normal functioning of the pulmonary prosthesis and the mitral and tricuspid repair. Infection caused by B. quintana is a rare cause of endocarditis with negative blood cultures, and multivalvular and pulmonary valve involvement is exceptional.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12055-024-01727-4.