The Role of Antibiotic Treatment Alone for the Management of Brucella Endocarditis: A Case Report and Literature Review

• Main Authors: Ali MERT, Funda KOÇAK, Reşat ÖZARAS, Fehmi TABAK, Muammer BİLİR, Recep ÖZTÜRK, Yıldırım AKTUĞLU
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bilimsel Tip Yayinevi 2002-03-01
• Series: Flora Infeksiyon Hastalıkları ve Klinik Mikrobiyoloji Dergisi
• Subjects: Brucellosis; Endocarditis
• Online Access: http://www.floradergisi.org/getFileContent.aspx?op=REDPDF&file_name=2002-7-1-063-067.pdf

Endocarditis is a rare complication of brucellosis but it is the main cause of mortality in this disease. The accepted treatment for Brucella endocarditis is a combination of valve replacement and antibiotics. Conservative antibiotic treatment alone is not recommended by most of the authors as it is considered ineffective and to be increasing the risk of fatality. In our literature review, we have found 14 patients with brucellosis endocarditis treated with antibiotics alone with a favorable outcome. In this report, we described a patient treated with antibiotics alone and reviewed the literature. Depending on the data from the current literature and our patient we suggest that in selected patients with Brucella endocarditis who do not have congestive heart failure, valve destruction, abscess formation, or a prosthetic valve, conservative antibiotic treatment may be a valid alternative to surgery.