Indirect Immunofluorescence as a Diagnostic Tool in a Prosthetic Heart Valve Endocarditis due to Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Staphylococcus epidermidis

Abstract

A late prosthetic valve endocarditis due to Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Staphylococcus epidermidis in a 72-year-old man is reported. A simple indirect immunofluorescence technique was used to confirm the etiological diagnosis. This test may be useful when diagnostic problems occur in infections with microorganisms of uncertain pathogenic importance.