Successful Management of Prosthetic Valve Brucella Endocarditis with Antibiotherapy Alone

OBJECTIVES: To report a case of mechanical aortic prosthesis Brucella endocarditis successfully treated with antibiotics alone. Materials and methods: We describe a clinical case and present a review of the literature. RESULTS: A 60-year-old female farmer with a mechanical aortic prosthetic valve presented with low back pain and fever. She was diagnosed with prosthetic valve Brucella mellitensis endocarditis and was cured with antibiotic therapy alone. Few cases of successfully treated prosthetic valve Brucella endocarditis without surgery have been reported. CONCLUSION: Prosthetic valve Brucella endocarditis usually requires surgical valve replacement. However, selected patients may be successfully treated with antibiotic therapy alone. LEARNING POINTS: Brucella endocarditis is responsible for most fatal cases of brucellosis. Brucellosis relapse after treatment in patients with a cardiac valve prosthesis should arouse suspicion for endocarditis. Long-term medical treatment alone can be successful in selected patients with Brucella endocarditis, even in those with prosthetic valve endocarditis..