Aortic bioprosthetic valve infective endocarditis due to burkholderia cepacia complex bactremia in an immunocompetent individual with successful treatment – a case report

Prosthetic valve endocarditis is a direful complication of cardiac valve replacement and is associated with high mortality rates. There has been a recent change in the microbial spectrum of pathogens. One among them is Burkholderia cepacia complex (BCC), which is rare but serious, leading to valve dysfunction and heart failure thereby resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. BCC is intrinsically resistant to multiple antibiotics which lead to frequent treatment failures. BCC is known to cause serious infections in patients with cystic fibrosis1, chronic granulomatous disease, malignancies, ( Intravenous drug) IVD abuse, and is also transmitted nosocomially. Here, we report a case of successful treatment of BCC prosthetic valve endocarditis with splenic hypodense lesions, in an immunocompetent individual, which was detected in the second ( Trans Esophageal Echocardiogram )TEE. To the best of our knowledge, there are only very few reported cases of infective endocarditis( IE) due to BCC in the medical literature 2. The need for a better awareness among clinicians on the recent trend of changing pathogens implicated in IE, and a strong clinical suspicion for the same, is essential for accurate management.