Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Texas Heart Institute Journal logoLink to The Texas Heart Institute Journal
. 1987 Sep;14(3):321–324.

Fungal Endocarditis Caused by Pseudallescheria (Petriellidium) boydii in an Intravenous Drug Abuser

Ali-Reza Armin 1, Vijaya B Reddy 1, Emilio Orfei 1
PMCID: PMC324747  PMID: 15227321

Abstract

We present a case of fungal endocarditis in a 42-year-old man with a history of intravenous drug abuse who required aortic valve replacement for severe aortic insufficiency. Cultures of the resected valve grew Pseudallescheria boydii. The patient subsequently developed persistent endocarditis of the prosthetic valve with systemic embolism. At autopsy, cultures of the prosthetic valve grew Monosporium apiospermum, an anamorph of Pseudallescheria boydii. Although fungal endocarditis is not uncommon in intravenous drug abusers, endocarditis caused by Pseudallescheria boydii is rare. It has been reported in only three other instances, and under circumstances that were different from ours. (Texas Heart Institute Journal 1987; 14:321-324)

Keywords: Endocarditis, fungal

Keywords: Pseudallescheria

Keywords: aortic valve

Keywords: substance abuse

Full text

PDF
321

Images in this article

322Image
on p.322
322Image
on p.322
323Image
on p.323

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Anderson D. J., Bulkley B. H., Hutchins G. M. A clinicopathologic study of prosthetic valve endocarditis in 22 patients: morphologic basis for diagnosis and therapy. Am Heart J. 1977 Sep;94(3):325–332. doi: 10.1016/s0002-8703(77)80475-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Arnett J. C., Jr, Hatch H. B., Jr Pulmonary allescheriasis. Report of a case and review of the literature. Arch Intern Med. 1975 Sep;135(9):1250–1253. doi: 10.1001/archinte.135.9.1250. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bloom S. M., Warner R. R., Weitzman I. Maxillary sinusitis: isolation of Scedosporium (Monosporium) apiospermum, anamorph of Petriellidium (Allescheria) boydii. Mt Sinai J Med. 1982 Nov-Dec;49(6):492–494. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Chaudhuri M. R. Fungal endocarditis after valve replacements. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1970 Aug;60(2):207–214. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Davis W. A., Isner J. M., Bracey A. W., Roberts W. C., Garagusi V. F. Disseminated Petriellidium boydii and pacemaker endocarditis. Am J Med. 1980 Dec;69(6):929–932. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9343(80)80021-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Elliott I. D., Halde C., Shapiro J. Keratitis and endophthalmitis caused by Petriellidium boydii. Am J Ophthalmol. 1977 Jan;83(1):16–18. doi: 10.1016/0002-9394(77)90184-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Gluckman S. J., Ries K., Abrutyn E. Allescheria (Petriellidium) boydii sinusitis in a compromised host. J Clin Microbiol. 1977 Apr;5(4):481–484. doi: 10.1128/jcm.5.4.481-484.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Gordon G., Axelrod J. L. Case report: prosthetic valve endocarditis caused by Pseudallescheria boydii and Clostridium limosum. Mycopathologia. 1985 Mar;89(3):129–134. doi: 10.1007/BF00447020. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Harris P. D., Yeoh C. B., Breault J., Meltzer J., Katz S. Fungal endocarditis secondary to drug addiction. Recent concepts in diagnosis and therapy. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1972 Jun;63(6):980–985. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Murray I. G., Buckley H. R., Turner G. C. Serological evidence of Candida infection after open-heart surgery. J Med Microbiol. 1969 Nov 4;2(4):463–469. doi: 10.1099/00222615-2-4-463. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Norenberg R. G., Sethi G. K., Scott S. M., Takaro T. Opportunistic endocarditis following open-heart surgery. Ann Thorac Surg. 1975 May;19(5):592–604. doi: 10.1016/s0003-4975(10)64440-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Ramsey R. G., Gunnar R. M., Tobin J. R., Jr Endocarditis in the drug addict. Am J Cardiol. 1970 May;25(5):608–618. doi: 10.1016/0002-9149(70)90600-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Roberts F. J., Allen P., Maybee T. K. Petriellidium boydii (Allescheria boydii) endocarditis associated with porcine valve replacement. Can Med Assoc J. 1977 Dec 3;117(11):1250–1252. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Rubinstein E., Noriega E. R., Simberkoff M. S., Holzman R., Rahal J. J., Jr Fungal endocarditis: analysis of 24 cases and review of the literature. Medicine (Baltimore) 1975 Jul;54(4):331–334. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Selby R. Pachymeningitis secondary to Allescheria boydii. Case report. J Neurosurg. 1972 Feb;36(2):225–227. doi: 10.3171/jns.1972.36.2.0225. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Walsh T. J., Hutchins G. M., Bulkley B. H., Mendelsohn G. Fungal infections of the heart: analysis of 51 autopsy cases. Am J Cardiol. 1980 Feb;45(2):357–366. doi: 10.1016/0002-9149(80)90659-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. ZIMMERMAN L. E. Candida and Aspergillus endocarditis, with comments on the role of antibiotics in dissemination of fungus disease. AMA Arch Pathol. 1950 Nov;50(5):591–605. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Texas Heart Institute Journal are provided here courtesy of Texas Heart Institute

RESOURCES