Tricuspid valve endocarditis: Not just in I V drug abusers

Tricuspid valve endocarditis affects Intravenous drug abusers without any pre-existing heart disease, similarly seen in immunodeficiency states, alcoholism, extensive burns, long standing indwelling right side catheters or intravenous cannulas and congenital heart diseases with left to right shunts. Right sided endocarditis accounts for 5% to 10% of all cases of infective endocarditis. It is less encountered due to lower rates of congenital and rheumatic heart disease affecting right side valves, lower right heart pressure and reduced stress to tricuspid and pulmonary valves and lower right heart blood oxygen content. Staphylococcus aureus is the most common organism isolated followed by Streptococcus pyogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and candida species. Polymicrobial infections are common in IV drug addicts. The patient described here had post partum septicaemia that predisposed her to Tricuspid Valve Endocarditis with septic pulmonary emboli which is an important complication of tricuspid valve endocarditis.