Echocardiographic demonstration of free wall vegetative endocarditis complicated by a pulmonary embolism in a patient with ventricular septal defect.
A defect in the muscular part of the interventricular septum in a 19 year old man was complicated by infective endocarditis caused by Staphylococcus aureus. The lesion was a large right ventricular free wall vegetation which embolised to the lungs. The vegetation was displayed by cross sectional echocardiography, which also confirmed the clinical diagnosis of ventricular septal defect. This case confirms the concept that the jet stream causes endocarditis at its point of impact. After six weeks' treatment with antibiotics the ventricular septal defect was repaired at operation.
Register for free content
The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.
Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.
