Streptococcus bovis endocarditis and vertebral osteomyelitis.

Streptococcus bovis recovered from blood cultures may represent bacteremia alone, bacteremia from an extravascular source, or endocarditis. Patients with S. bovis endocarditis frequently have a gastrointestinal focus. S. bovis has been associated with many gastrointestinal diseases and in particular with colon carcinoma. S. bovis endocarditis may be complicated by embolic events or osteomyelitis. Vertebral osteomyelitis is a rare complication of S. bovis endocarditis. We report the third known case of S. bovis endocarditis with vertebral osteomyelitis.