TRICUSPID CANDIDA ENDOCARDITIS COMPLICATING A PERMANENTLY IMPLANTED TRANSVENOUS PACEMAKER

The first reported case of tricuspid candida endocarditis which developed in association with a permanently implanted transvenous pacemaker is described. The patient died ten months after pacemaker implantation, and his terminal illness was characterized by congestive heart failure, fever, leukocytosis, and seven negative blood cultures. At autopsy, a large monilial vegetation was attached to the right atrial wall, involved and partially obstructed the tricuspid valve, and extended into the inferior vena cava. Histologic examination of the vegetations, the heart, the lung, and the kidney revealed the presence of candida organisms. © 1969.