1. Pulmonary valve endocarditis in adults with congenital heart disease: the role of echocardiography in a case series
- Author
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Diego Colonna, Berardo Sarubbi, Emanuele Romeo, Giancarlo Scognamiglio, Michela Palma, Assunta Merola, Flavia Fusco, and Anna Correra
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Heart disease ,Pulmonary valve ,030204 cardiovascular system & hematology ,Pulmonary prosthesis ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,Endocarditis ,Ventricular outflow tract ,In patient ,Case Series ,AcademicSubjects/MED00200 ,030212 general & internal medicine ,business.industry ,Congenital Heart Disease ,medicine.disease ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Echocardiography ,Infective endocarditis ,Cardiology ,Presentation (obstetrics) ,Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine ,Complication ,business - Abstract
Background Pulmonary valve (PV) endocarditis is a frequent complication during follow-up in patients with repaired right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) obstruction and poses relevant diagnostic and treatment challenges. We aimed to describe in details the possible different clinical presentations of this rare condition and to highlight the role of both transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography which, in experienced hands, may provide comprehensive useful information for the clinicians. Case summary We below describe the clinical presentation and the echo findings of three cases of pulmonary valve endocarditis complicating disease course after different repair modalities of congenital right ventricular outflow tract obstruction. Discussion The present case series outlines the diagnostic challenges of this increasingly frequent complication during follow-up of patients with congenital RVOT dysfunction after both surgical and percutaneous repair. Despite the diffusion of multimodality imaging, echocardiography with PV-dedicated views play a pivotal role in diagnosing such condition and guiding clinical management. Furthermore, this case series highlight that the suspicion of infective endocarditis should be raised whenever a sudden increase in transvalvular gradient is found during follow-up.
- Published
- 2020