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Logo of bmjcrInstructions for authorsCurrent ToCBMJ Case Reports
 
BMJ Case Rep. 2010; 2010: bcr11.2009.2459.
Published online 2010 May 6. doi:  10.1136/bcr.11.2009.2459
PMCID: PMC3047520
New disease
Bordetella holmesii: a rare cause of bacterial endocarditis in a post-splenectomy patient
Sarbjit Clare,1 Tariq Ahmed,2 Rohit Singh,3 and Stephen Gough3
1City Hospital, Acute Medicine, Dudley Road, Birmingham, Birmingham B18 7QH, UK
2University Hospital Birmingham, Anaesthetic Department, Birmingham B152TH, UK
3University Hospital Birmingham, Department Of Medicine, Birmingham B15 2TH, UK
Correspondence to Sarbjit Clare, sarbc/at/hotmail.com
Abstract
We present a rare case of endocarditis in a 33-year-old woman with a splenectomy. The patient presented with meningeal symptoms and was diagnosed with endocarditis on the medical admissions unit using a portable echocardiography machine. Bordetella holmesii was cultured from the blood on admission and the patient underwent subsequent aortic valve replacement. We discuss the importance of echo skills within the specialty of acute medicine and the benefits of swift senior review at the front door. We emphasise the guidelines on antibiotic prophylaxis for the post-splenectomy patient as well as discuss the pathogen B holmesii and its growing association of septicaemia in asplenic individuals.
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