A severe infective endocarditis successfully treated with linezolid

Abstract

Despite significant improvements in surgical and medical therapy, prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) is a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge and is often associated with a severe prognosis. We report a case of a 59-year-old woman, with PVE and bacterial endocarditis (Streptococcus bovis) successfully treated with linezolid. Linezolid is a bacteriostatic oxazolidinone antibiotic that has been proven to be effective for the treatment of patients with pneumonia, skin and soft tissue infections, and infections due to Gram-positive cocci. Linezolid is not yet recognised as a standard therapy for infective endocarditis, but its use becomes a necessity when infection is due to multidrug-resistant microorganisms.

Keywords

• Streptococcus bovis
• Prosthetic valve endocarditis
• Infective endocarditis
• Linezolid