When the Cat's Out of the Bag Searching for Portals of Entry in Infective Endocarditis ∗

Infective endocarditis (IE) often poses challenges of the diagnostic and/or treatment variety. Take, for instance, the case of a 24-year-old man with congenital heart disease who is diagnosed with Bartonella henselae IE. Patient: “What’s the next step, doc?” Physician: “You will have a peripherally inserted central catheter in your arm through which you will receive intravenous antibiotics for 6 weeks. This will be followed by at least 3 to 6 months of oral antibiotics, potentially longer. These antibiotics may cause diarrhea. You will need to have your pacemaker removed and then replaced. If your heart valve falters, you will need to have open heart surgery to replace your heart valve.” And now for the really bad news: “You have to give away your cat…sorry.”
Source: Journal of the American College of Cardiology - Category: Cardiology Source Type: research