Geraldine E Ménard1. 1. Section of General Internal Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA. gmenard@tulane.edu
Abstract
CASE: A 43-year-old female with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was admitted with fever and shortness of breath 1 month after aortic valve replacement. A diagnostic workup including chemistries, complete blood count, blood cultures, chest x-ray, and 2-D echocardiogram was performed to determine the etiology of her symptoms and differentiate between acute bacterial endocarditis and Libman-Sacks endocarditis. DISCUSSION: By utilizing Duke's criteria, antiphospholipid antibodies, and serial echocardiography, we were able to make a diagnosis of Libman-Sacks endocarditis. The patient was successfully treated for Libman-Sacks endocarditis and recovered uneventfully. CONCLUSION: This case highlights the challenges of making the correct diagnosis when 2 disease processes present with similar findings.
CASE: A 43-year-old female with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was admitted with fever and shortness of breath 1 month after aortic valve replacement. A diagnostic workup including chemistries, complete blood count, blood cultures, chest x-ray, and 2-D echocardiogram was performed to determine the etiology of her symptoms and differentiate between acute bacterial endocarditis and Libman-Sacks endocarditis. DISCUSSION: By utilizing Duke's criteria, antiphospholipid antibodies, and serial echocardiography, we were able to make a diagnosis of Libman-Sacks endocarditis. The patient was successfully treated for Libman-Sacks endocarditis and recovered uneventfully. CONCLUSION: This case highlights the challenges of making the correct diagnosis when 2 disease processes present with similar findings.
Authors: J S Li; D J Sexton; N Mick; R Nettles; V G Fowler; T Ryan; T Bashore; G R Corey Journal: Clin Infect Dis Date: 2000-04-03 Impact factor: 9.079
Authors: E V Barnes; S Narain; A Naranjo; J Shuster; M S Segal; E S Sobel; A E Armstrong; B E Santiago; W H Reeves; H B Richards Journal: Lupus Date: 2005 Impact factor: 2.911
Authors: Ioannis Moyssakis; Maria G Tektonidou; Vassilios A Vasilliou; Michael Samarkos; Vassilios Votteas; Haralampos M Moutsopoulos Journal: Am J Med Date: 2007-07 Impact factor: 4.965
Authors: Wobbe Bouma; Theo J Klinkenberg; Iwan C C van der Horst; Inez J Wijdh-den Hamer; Michiel E Erasmus; Marc Bijl; Albert J H Suurmeijer; Felix Zijlstra; Massimo A Mariani Journal: J Cardiothorac Surg Date: 2010-03-23 Impact factor: 1.637