Infective endocarditis of an aortic intimal flap due to Streptococcus agalactiae in a patient with Sjögren's syndrome: an unusual clinical case report

• Published in: Echocardiography (Mount Kisco, N.Y.) Vol. 33; no. 9; pp. 1434 - 1435
• Main Authors: De Chiara, Benedetta, Peritore, Angelica, Sara, Roberto, Giannattasio, Cristina, Moreo, Antonella
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.09.2016
• Subjects: Aged; aortic dissection; Aortitis - diagnostic imaging; Aortitis - microbiology; Diagnosis, Differential; Echocardiography - methods; Endocarditis - diagnostic imaging; Endocarditis - microbiology; Female; Humans; hybrid imaging; infective endocarditis; Positron-Emission Tomography - methods; Sjogren's Syndrome - diagnostic imaging; Sjogren's Syndrome - microbiology; Sjögren's syndrome; Streptococcal Infections - diagnostic imaging; Streptococcal Infections - microbiology; Streptococcus agalactiae; Tunica Intima - diagnostic imaging; Tunica Intima - microbiology; hybrid imaging; infective endocarditis; Sjögren's syndrome; aortic dissection
• ISSN: 0742-2822; 1540-8175
• DOI: 10.1111/echo.13274

A 67‐year‐old woman, suffering from Sjögren's syndrome, was admitted for septic asymmetric arthritis due to Streptococcus agalactiae. She had previously undergone a replacement of the ascending aorta (type A acute aortic dissection). A transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography showed small pseudoaneurysm of the sino‐tubular junction and vegetations attached both to the aortic cusps and to a residual intimal flap near the proximal edge of the vascular prosthesis. A 18F‐FDG PET/CT scan confirmed the diagnosis.