DOI: 10.36347/sasjm.2020.v06i03.001

Pages: 80-83

Infective endocarditis (IE) occurs at a rate of approximately 25-50/1000000 people per year in patients with a preexisting cardiac pathology in 2/3 of the cases. Despite the therapeutic advances, and the developpement of new surgical approches, the morbidty and mortality related to infectious endocarditis remains high. The epidemiological profile of infective endocarditis has changed considerably in recent decades in Morocco. Despite the efforts made to eradicate rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic valve disease remains a public health problem in our context. Antibiotic therapy is the cornerstone of the treatment of endocarditis. However, some dreadful complications can occur, even with undergoing antibiotic therapy. Systemic embolism is one of them and occurs in 22%–50% of IE patients; emboli may involve major arteries, mostly affecting the central nervous system as well as other organs. However, peripheral arterial emboli that result from bacterial endocarditis may be silent or catastrophic. The present report presents an unusual case of infectious endarditis complicated with peripheral arterial embolism of the common femoral artery and acute lower limb ischemia. The patient underwent urgent Fogarty embolectomy and a delayed surgical procedure for mitral valve replacement and tricuspid valve repair. Proper emergency management is discussed and conclusions are made regarding indications of conservative and invasive treatment.