Open AccessUnusual presentation of aspergillus pericarditis: A case report
Author(s) -
Feras A. Alkuwaiti,
Yasser Elghoneimy,
Eman Ahmed Hassan Alabdrabalrasol,
Saleh Tawfeeq Alshreadah
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
saudi journal of medicine and medical sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.125
H-Index - 2
eISSN - 1658-631X
pISSN - 2321-4856
DOI - 10.4103/sjmms.sjmms_129_17
Subject(s) - medicine , pericardium , aspergillosis , voriconazole , pericarditis , aspergillus , infective endocarditis , surgery , endocarditis , splenectomy , presentation (obstetrics) , cardiac surgery , spleen , antifungal , dermatology , microbiology and biotechnology , immunology , biology
Cardiac aspergillosis is a rare fungal infection that affects the heart and/or pericardium of immunocompromised patients. Here, the authors report a rare case of a 36-year-old female with aspergillus pericarditis. The patient was diagnosed with infective endocarditis and splenic infarction and treated with emergency splenectomy and double-valve replacement surgery. During the surgery, a fibropurulent pericardial tissue was found and excised. The culture report of the tissue confirmed the diagnosis of aspergillus pericarditis. The patient was successfully managed with intravenous voriconazole. Aspergillus do not usually infect the pericardium and such infections are rarely detected premortem, especially during a cardiac surgery. In this report, the infection was accidentally detected during the double-valve surgery. The authors conclude that because of its nonspecific clinical manifestations, a high degree of clinical suspicion is required for the early diagnosis and treatment of aspergillus pericarditis.