Bacillus cereus endocarditis: report of a case and review.

Bacillus cereus is a ubiquitous organism that infrequently causes serious infections. We report a patient with B. cereus endocarditis involving a mechanical aortic valve. Data for 10 cases of B. cereus endocarditis reported in the literature are summarized. B. cereus is resistant to many commonly used antibiotics, a finding that has clinical significance for empirical antibiotic selection in patients with suspected endocarditis. Infection in patients with valvular heart disease in the few cases reported is associated with significant mortality and morbidity.