Right-sided endocarditis from Staphylococcus lugdunensis in a patient with tetralogy of Fallot

Abstract

Infective endocarditis is often caused by bacterial pathogens and can affect native and prosthetic tissue. Common pathogens in pediatric patients include Staphylococcus aureus, viridans group streptococci, enterococcal species and coagulase-negative staphylococci, though culture-negative cases are not uncommon. Coagulase-negative staphylococci present a conundrum to clinicians due to the potential of culture contamination. While Staphylococcus lugdunensis is a coagulase-negative staphylococcus, it is an emerging cardiotropic pathogen that presents similarly to Staphylococcus aureus. Here we report a case of a child with repaired tetralogy of Fallot found to have right-sided infective endocarditis caused by Staphylococcus lugdunensis.