Cardiobacterium Clinical Presentation
- Author: Kerry O Cleveland, MD; Chief Editor: Michael Stuart Bronze, MD more...
History
The clinical course of C hominis endocarditis tends to be subacute. In a published series, the mean duration of symptoms was 169 days; however, this may reflect the difficulty in growing C hominis in older blood culture systems. In this same series, 44% of patients had a history of a dental procedure or oral infection.[1]
Physical
Common findings in Cardiobacterium infections include the following:
- Fever (86%)
- Splenomegaly (59%)
- Peripheral embolic phenomenon (44%)
- Petechiae (41%)
- Clubbing (19%)
Causes
Bacteremia with C hominis endocarditis usually occurs in the setting of pre-existing structural heart disease or a prosthetic heart valve. Many patients have a history of a recent dental procedure or poor dentition.
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