Endocarditis remains one of the most common heart infections in adults aged 60 and over.
This time, a Puerto Rican patient not only presented this complication of bacterial origin, but also led to a clinical picture rarely seen in adult populations.
This was revealed to Medicine and Public Health (MSP) by Dr. Miguel Laforet Matos, an internist at Manatí Medical Center (MMC) who was part of the medical team that treated the 58-year-old man.
The endocarditis Infectious disease affects the inner wall of the heart (endocardium), which usually also affects the heart valves. It occurs when bacteria enter the bloodstream, reach and attach to the heart valves.
“The patient complained of itchy limbs, lesions on the thighs, which are characteristic symptoms of vasculitis. IgA levels (which measure allergic reactions) were measured in this patient and had to undergo a biopsy of the injuries found,” explains the doctor.
“The biopsy was positive for leukocytoclastic vasculitis – which affects small blood vessels, mainly in the skin – mediated by endocarditis. This type of vasculitis is very common in children in about 90 to 95% of cases. The remainder occurs in adults. prevalence of biopsy-positive leukocytoclastic vasculitis is 4.5% per 100,000 adults, ”he said.
Leukocytoclastic vasculitis was treated with steroid drugs while in this patient endocarditis with antibiotics.
Other risk factors for endocarditis are artificial heart valves, damaged heart valves, congenital heart defects, implanted heart device, history of endocarditis, history of illicit intravenous drug use, long-term catheter use, among others.