Cardiac Manifestations of Q Fever

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23574261

J Card Surg. 2013 Apr 10. doi: 10.1111/jocs.12098. [Epub ahead of print]

Cardiac Manifestations of Q Fever Infection: Case Series and a Review of the Literature.

Gunn TM, Raz GM, Turek JW, Farivar RS.

Source

Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii, an uncommon intracellular bacterium found in livestock and domesticateddogs and cats. A minority of patients who acquire acute Q fever will subsequently develop chronic Q fever endocarditis, which often manifests in valvular insufficiency.

METHOD:

We review recent literature and report the clinical presentation, treatment, and serology of three surgical patients with Q fever.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:

Three patients with Q fever were successfully treated at our institution, including the first known case of a C. burnetii infection manifesting in a pediatric patient with isolated aortic coarctation.