Turk Kardiyol Dern Ars. 2012; 40(4): 364-367 | DOI: 10.5543/tkda.2012.32067

A case with tricuspid valve brucella endocarditis presenting with acute right heart failure

Hüseyin Uğur Yazıcı, Kadir Uğur Mert, Utku Şenol, Taner Ulus
Department of Cardiology, Eskişehir Osmangazi University School of Medicine, Eskişehir, Turkey

Although the presence of brucella endocarditis is encountered rarely, it is the most fetal complication of brucellosis, which is shown to affect the aortic valve primarily and the mitral valve secondarily. Involvement of the tricuspid valve is extremely rare. A 62-year-old female was admitted with complaints of fever, fatigue, difficulty in breathing, and swellings in her legs. A transthoracic echocardiogram was performed since acute right heart failure was considered due to her symptoms. The echocardiogram showed enlarged right heart chambers, serious tricuspid valve insufficiency, and a mass on the tricuspid valve compatible with a vegetation moving in and out of the right ventricle. Although no growths were observed in the blood culture, antibody titration for brucellosis was found to be 1/640 (+) in the serological examination. The patient was diagnosed with brucella endocarditis and placed on doxycycline, rifampicin, and ceftriaxone treatment for eight weeks. At the end of the eight-week treatment, the symptoms of right heart failure receded and the patient recovered from the endocarditis. Tricuspid valve brucella endocarditis should be considered in patients suffering from acute right heart failure accompanied by systemic infection findings since brucellosis is presently endemic in Turkey.

Keywords: Brucella endocarditis, brucellosis/complications, endocarditis, bacterial etiology; heart valve diseases; right heart failure; tricuspid valve

---

---

CITE