OBJECTIVE Compared with reoperative aortic valve replacement for nonendocarditic causes, the contemporary risk and long-term outcomes of reoperation for aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis are ill-defined. METHODS Between December 1994 and April 2008, 313 patients underwent reoperative aortic valve replacement, of whom 152 (48.6%) had prosthetic valve endocarditis. Mean follow-up was 6.5 ± 0...

Infective endocarditis is usually diagnosed using modified Duke's criteria. Our patient had a subacute presentation and a low suspicion for endocarditis during admission, unfortunately leading to her death. Despite advances in diagnostic and therapeutic measures including antibiotic therapy and surgical techniques, morbidity and mortality with staphylococcal infective endocarditis remain high. ...

We report here the complete genome sequence of Klebsiella variicola strain HKUOPLA, isolated from a giant panda feces sample collected from Ocean Park, Hong Kong. The complete genome of this bacterium may contribute toward the discovery of efficient cellulose-degrading pathways.

conclusions physicians should consider brucellosis in all patients with low back pain in the brucella endemic regions, and in those with spondylitis or culture-negative ie in the brucella endemic regions. case presentation the current case was a 70-year-old female presented with fever and low back pain. the spinal magnetic resonance imaging (mri) was performed and signal changing in t9, t10 wit...

the latest american heart association (aha) statement for preventing infectious endocarditis, has not recommended prophylactic antibiotic therapy prior to fiberoptic bronchoscopy (fb) except for patients with preexisting predisposing cardiac conditions. our aim was to determine the incidence of bacteriemia and fever following fb in our experience and compare with those which have been mentioned...

It has been asserted that humoral immunity is an important potentiating factor in pathogenesis of infective endocarditis, in that prior immunization to certain bacteria may predispose the host to endocarditis caused by those organisms. If so, possible future vaccination of humans with streptococcal antigens for the prevention of dental caries might increase the susceptibility of the population ...

BACKGROUND Clinical guidelines currently suggest that transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) be carried out in all patients with suspected endocarditis, but the use of TTE where there is a low probability of infective endocarditis has a poor diagnostic yield. This screening approach may no longer be appropriate. OBJECTIVE To examine whether clinical criteria might aid decision making with respe...

Klebsiella species are a common cause of community- and nosocomial-acquired pneumonia. Antibiotic resistance to the class of carbapenem in patients with pneumonia caused by Klebsiella species is unusual. New studies report carbapenem resistance in patients with pneumonia caused by Klebsiella species.This article examines, retrospectively, antibiotic resistance in patients with community- and no...

BACKGROUND Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis is commonly seen on heart valves in patients with malignant or collagen diseases. The natural prognosis of nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis is reported to be poor due to underlying malignancy. Surgical indications and appropriate timing for surgery for nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis and underlying malignancy have not been formally studie...