INTRODUCTION: Infectious endocarditis is a rare life-threatening complication of pregnancy. We report a pregnancy complicated by a 3.5-cm infected vegetation of the tricuspid valve initially presenting as unilateral hip pain as well as systematic review of this entity. SOURCES: A MEDLINE review of the English language literature from 1965 to present using the search terms 'endocarditis', 'pregnancy' and 'infection' as well as review of references was performed. RESULTS: Sixty-eight cases of infectious endocarditis complicating pregnancy were identified. The calculated maternal and fetal mortality rates were 22.1% and 14.7% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: With persistent symptomatic lesions, delivery should be considered without regard to measures of fetal lung maturity because of high fetal mortality rates.
INTRODUCTION:Infectious endocarditis is a rare life-threatening complication of pregnancy. We report a pregnancy complicated by a 3.5-cm infected vegetation of the tricuspid valve initially presenting as unilateral hip pain as well as systematic review of this entity. SOURCES: A MEDLINE review of the English language literature from 1965 to present using the search terms 'endocarditis', 'pregnancy' and 'infection' as well as review of references was performed. RESULTS: Sixty-eight cases of infectious endocarditis complicating pregnancy were identified. The calculated maternal and fetal mortality rates were 22.1% and 14.7% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: With persistent symptomatic lesions, delivery should be considered without regard to measures of fetal lung maturity because of high fetal mortality rates.
Authors: Enrico Vizzardi; Giuseppe De Cicco; Gregoriana Zanini; Antonio D'Aloia; Pompilio Faggiano; Roberto Lo Russo; Ermanna Chiari; Livio Dei Cas Journal: Cases J Date: 2009-09-10