Abiotrophia defectiva endocarditis – Diagnostic and therapeutic challenge: Case report

Belonging to the normal oral, gastrointestinal, and urogenital flora, Abiotrophia defectiva is responsible for 1–2 % of all infective endocarditis (IE) cases. The manifestation of A.defectiva endocarditis may by atypical, without fever. Difficult to isolate pathogen requires special culture media. A 45-year-old female was admitted due to anemia and progressive weight loss (8 kg in 6 months). She had a history of benign mitral valve (MV) prolapse and non-stenotic bicuspid aortic valve (BAV). In echocardiography, large vegetations on MV and small vegetation on BAV were found. An enriched medium for fastidious pathogens was used. A. defectiva was identified using biochemical analysis with VITEK-2 Compact. In the fourth week of antibiotic therapy, she required urgent MV replacement due to MV regurgitation progression while vegetation on BAV disappeared. Although patient's frailty and underweight caused prolonged postoperative wound healing, she was transferred to rehabilitation in good conditions. No relapse of IE was observed during five-month follow-up

Selected aspects of allergy nursing

Introduction. Due to their dynamic character, allergic conditions pose challenges for modern medicine and constitute a public health problem. Nearly 40% of the general Polish population is estimated to suffer from an allergy. We would like to emphasize that allergies are not some extraordinary ailments; instead, they commonly coincide with or are complications of other systemic conditions. Hence, national health policies should prioritize the development and implementation of ready-to-use protocols that focus mainly on prevention rather than treatment