Korean J Clin Microbiol.  1999 Mar;2(1):95-100.

A Case of Infective Endocarditis Caused by Haemophilus paraphrophilus

• Youn M
• Shin JH
• Suh SP
• Ryang DW

Abstract

Haemophilus paraphrophilus is a normal inhabitant of the naso- and oropharynx and has been rarely reported as a cause of endocarditis. H. paraphrophilus is a slow-growing and fastidious gram-negative bacterium and belongs to the HACEK group. We experienced a case of infective endocarditis due to H. paraphrophilus. The organism was repeatedly isolated from the blood cultures of a 60 year -old patient presenting with high fever, chills, cardiac murmur, and change of mental state. The patient had a history of mitral and tricuspid valve replacements and had been followed up for complications of cirrhosis of liver such as esophageal varix and oral bleeding. The isolate was identified as H. paraphrophilus by the characteristics, including factor V requirement, negative indole, urea and ornithine decarboxylase and acid production from glucose and lactose. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing by the disk diffusion method showed that the organism was susceptible to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, aztreonam, imipenem, and ciprofloxacin. The patient expired on hospital day 8, probably due to complications of cirrhosis of liver To our knowledge, this is the first case of infective endocarditis caused by H. paraphrophilus in Korea.

Keyword

Haemophilus paraprophilus; the HACEK group; endocarditis

MeSH Terms

Ampicillin
Aztreonam
Cefotaxime
Ceftazidime
Chills
Chloramphenicol
Ciprofloxacin
Diffusion
Endocarditis*
Esophageal and Gastric Varices
Factor V
Fever
Fibrosis
Glucose
Haemophilus paraphrophilus*
Haemophilus*
Heart Murmurs
Hemorrhage
Humans
Imipenem
Korea
Lactose
Liver
Ornithine Decarboxylase
Oropharynx
Tetracycline
Tricuspid Valve
Urea
Ampicillin
Aztreonam
Cefotaxime
Ceftazidime
Chloramphenicol
Ciprofloxacin
Factor V
Glucose
Imipenem
Lactose
Ornithine Decarboxylase
Tetracycline
Urea