Diagnosis: Infective Endocarditis
• The clinical description of the patient in the scenario suggests she has infective endocarditis.
• Several organisms normally found in the oral cavity are notorious for causing this condition and have been referred to as HACEK organisms: Haemophilus aphrophilus, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Cardiobacterium hominis, Eikenella corrodens, and Kingella kingae.
• HACEK organisms are gram-negative bacilli that grow poorly on media selective for gram-negative organisms (fastidious), require special media or incubation conditions, and are causes of blood culture–negative endocarditis.
• Although S. epidermidis is a cause of infective endocarditis, it is more common in the setting of prosthetic valves.
