Screening for Q Fever during Other Bacterial Endocarditis in Endemic Areas: Our Experience with Three Patients

Table 1

Clinical, bacteriological, serological, and echocardiographic characteristics of three patients with bacterial endocarditis.

Patient	Previous risk factors	Results of blood cultures	Pathological echocardiographic findings	Surgery	First serology for Q fever	Duration of prophylaxis	Follow-up serology for Q fever (6–12 months from diagnosis)	Follow-up serology for Q fever (3–6 months from end of therapy)
1	None	Streptococcus cristatus	Severe aortic regurgitation and a large vegetation	Aortic valve replacement	IgM II-100; IgG II-400; IgM I-negative; IgG I-200	12 months	IgM II-negative; IgG II-200; IgM I-negative; IgG I-negative	NA
2	Aortic valve replacement and aortic composite graft	Enterococcus faecalis	None	NA	IgM II-negative; IgG II-400; IgM I-negative; IgG I-100	4 months (stopped due to side effects: hyperpigmentation of the gingiva and calves)	IgM II-negative; IgG II-100; IgM I-negative; IgG I-negative	IgM II-negative; IgG II-100; IgM I-negative; IgG I-negative
3	Mitral valve replacement	Streptococcus gordonii	None	NA	IgM II-negative; IgG II-200; IgM I-negative; IgG I-negative	12 months	IgM II-negative; IgG II-400; IgM I-negative; IgG I-200	IgM II-negative; IgG II-1600; IgM I-negative; IgG I-400