Sphingomonas paucimobilis: A Quite Rare Case of Endocarditis

Abstract

Sphingomonas paucimobilis, is a yellow-pigmented, aerobic, non-fermentative, non-spore-forming, gram-negative bacillus. Although widely found in nature and hospital environments, it rarely causes life threatening infections. Especially in hospitals, it has been reported to cause epidemics in immunocompromised patients. Infective endocarditis is an infection of the heart valves, vascular endothelial wall, and endocardium of heart wall caused by various microorganisms such as fungi, viruses, chlamydia, rickettsia, and especially bacteria. The most common clinical symptoms and signs are fever, malaise, fatigue, arthralgia, myalgia, weight loss and sweating, which are nonspecific symptoms and signs. In addition, heart failure, changes in murmur, arthritis, splenomegaly and neurological findings depending on immune response-embolic phenomena such as petechiae, janeway lesions, roth spots and osler’s nodes may occur. In this report,a case of endocarditis infection due to S. paucimobilisis presented. An 18 year-old male patient with rheumatic mitral and aortic valve involvement was referred to our clinic due to suspected endocarditis caused by an increase in fever and malaise. Severe aortic regurgitation, moderate mitral regurgitation and moderate tricuspid regurgitation were detected by transthoracic echocardiography. In two blood cultures before the operation and in the culture of the specimen taken at the operation, S. paucimobilis bacterium was isolated. In this article, a case of endocarditis caused by a very rare bacteria is presented.

Keywords

• Sphingomonas paucimobilis
• Endocarditis