A 42-year-old male with a history of intravenous heroin use presents to the emergency department with a 2-week history of fever, night sweats, and progressive dyspnea. On examination, he has a temperature of 38.9°C, a new holosystolic murmur best heard at the left lower sternal border that increases with inspiration, splenomegaly, and splinter hemorrhages under his fingernails. Blood cultures grow methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus. Transthoracic echocardiography demonstrates large vegetations with severe regurgitation involving one of the cardiac valves. Which of the following valves is most commonly affected in this clinical presentation?
- A)Aortic valve
- B)Mitral valve
- C)Pulmonary valve
- D)Tricuspid valveGABARITO
- E)Multiple valves simultaneously
Explicação
The tricuspid valve is the most commonly affected valve in endocarditis among intravenous drug users (IVDU). This occurs because injected materials and bacteria preferentially seed the right side of the heart due to direct venous injection and high-velocity je... Ver explicação completa e trilha adaptativa →