A rare case of septic pulmonary embolism in co-existence with infective endocarditis and COVID-19

Yusuf Emre Ozdemir; Adile Sevde Demir; Meryem Sahin Ozdemir; Busra Mavi; Can Ozen; Hayat Kumbasar Karaosmanoglu

doi:10.2217/fvl-2022-0029

A rare case of septic pulmonary embolism in co-existence with infective endocarditis and COVID-19

Future Virol. 2022 Jul;0(0):10.2217/fvl-2022-0029. doi: 10.2217/fvl-2022-0029. Epub 2022 Jul 19.

Authors

Yusuf Emre Ozdemir¹, Adile Sevde Demir¹, Meryem Sahin Ozdemir², Busra Mavi³, Can Ozen⁴, Hayat Kumbasar Karaosmanoglu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Infectious Diseases & Clinical Microbiology, Bakirkoy Dr Sadi Konuk Training Research Hospital, Istanbul, 34140, Turkey.
² Department of Infectious Diseases & Clinical Microbiology, Istanbul University - Cerrahpasa, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, 34093, Turkey.
³ Department of Cardiology, Bakirkoy Dr Sadi Konuk Training Research Hospital, Istanbul, 34140, Turkey.
⁴ Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Bakirkoy Dr Sadi Konuk Training Research Hospital, Istanbul, 34140, Turkey.

Abstract

Infective endocarditis (IE) symptoms including fever, fatigue, dyspnea and myalgia are similar in COVID-19 findings. Therefore, the diagnosis of IE may be missed in patients with COVID-19. Co-existence with IE in COVID-19 is rarely reported. However, to our knowledge, only one case of septic pulmonary embolism in COVID-19 and IE was reported. Here, we describe a case of septic embolism due to tricuspid endocarditis caused by intravenous drug use in patients with COVID-19. In this fatal case, the use of prophylactic anticoagulants due to COVID-19 probably caused the tendency to hemorrhagic cerebrovascular complications. Our report emphasizes the complexity of anticoagulant prophylaxis in patients with COVID-19 which may cause hypercoagulopathy in co-existence with IE.

Keywords: COVID-19; anticoagulant therapy; infective endocarditis; methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus; septic pulmonary embolism.

Publication types

Case Reports