Cardiac arrest in a patient with acute mitral insufficiency for bacterial endocarditis

Abstract

Introduction: Infectious endocarditis is a disease that involves the heart valves more frequently, but it can also occur on chordae tendineae, or the mural endocardium. The characteristic lesion, vegetation, consists of a mass of platelets, fibrin, microorganisms microcolonies, and few inflammatory cells.
Objective: To describe the perioperative behavior, as well as the clinical anesthesiological evolution of a patient who presented cardiac arrest secondary to acute mitral regurgitation due to bacterial endocarditis.
Clinical case: A young man with a diagnosis of infective endocarditis and mitral valve insufficiency with ruptured tendinous cords presented cardiorespiratory arrest requiring brain and cardiopulmonary resuscitation with spontaneous circulation recovery. He was taken to the emergency operating room for mitral valve replacement and chordae tendineae conservation. Satisfactory results were obtained, without pulmonary or neurological sequelae.
Conclusions: The quick identification and treatment of bacterial endocarditis improves prognosis and prevents nefarious complications. Transesophageal echocardiography provides adequate spatial resolution and accuracy in its evaluation and gives the possibility for therapeutic improvement.