Infective endocarditis of quadricuspid aortic valve

• Published in: Journal of cardiothoracic surgery Vol. 18; no. 1; p. 63
• Main Authors: Goodman, Ariana M, Amirjamshidi, Hossein, Ziazadeh, Daniel R, Jones, Andrew S, Hisamoto, Kazuhiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 07.02.2023; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adult; Aneurysms; Antibiotics; Anticoagulants; Aorta; Aortic valve; Aortic Valve - surgery; Aortic Valve Insufficiency - surgery; Bacterial endocarditis; Cardiac surgery; Case Report; Case reports; Complications; Congenital aortic valve; Dalbavancin; Drug use; Endocarditis; Endocarditis - complications; Endocarditis, Bacterial - surgery; Heart surgery; Heart valve diseases; Heart valves; Humans; Infective endocarditis; Intervention; Male; Medical imaging; Patients; Quadricuspid Aortic Valve; Stroke; Substance abuse; Tricuspid valve; Vegetation; Surgical aortic valve replacement; Endocarditis; Infective endocarditis; Bacterial endocarditis; Cardiac surgery; Aortic valve; Congenital aortic valve
• ISSN: 1749-8090; 1749-8090
• DOI: 10.1186/s13019-023-02164-x

Infective endocarditis of the aortic valve is a relatively common disease presentation, with surgical intervention a mainstay of treatment in severe cases. Quadricuspid aortic valves are a rare spontaneous developmental anomaly that are more likely to be asymptomatic, and less likely to require a full valve replacement than their hypocuspid counterparts. However, there is very little literature addressing infective endocarditis of this valve variant. This case report presents a case of infective endocarditis of a quadricuspid aortic valve that required replacement with a surgical bioprosthetic valve. The patient is a 30 year old male with a history of polysubstance use, upper extremity aneurysm, and prior tricuspid valve endocarditis. Surgical aortic valve replacement was performed with a 25 mm tissue valve via median sternotomy. The patient made a full recovery after surgical aortic valve replacement and a course of antibiotics and was discharged home without any complications. This supports that surgical aortic valve replacement is feasible and safe in patients with polycuspid aortic valve endocarditis.