Authors: Soumer Khedija, Bousnina Mouna, Azabou Nadia, Ben Saida Fatma, Bennour Emna, Jemel Amine.
At the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, practicing physicians are confronted with the challenge of distinction SARS-CoV-2 infection from other diagnostic entities but also the possibility of treating COVID-19 patients with other co-existing diseases. This challenge becomes even greater with infectious diseases like infective endocarditis given the similarity of clinical manifestation of the two diseases.
We report the case of a young adult who was diagnosed with acute infective endocarditis complicated by heart failure and who simultaneously contracted the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. He had double valve replacement but unfortunately, his clinical condition deteriorated rapidly with respiratory COVID-19 complications followed by multiorgan failure.
Physicians should maintain a high degree of clinical suspicion to diagnose COVID-19 concomitant with infective endocarditis. The task of distinguishing the two is based on RT-PCR testing but mainly on transesophageal echocardiography (TEE).
View/Download pdf