부산대학교 도서관

Introduction: Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis (NBTE) or Marantic endocarditis, involves formation of sterile platelet & fibrin thrombi on undamaged cardiac valves & adjacent endocardium. The vegetation is associated with embolization.Case presentation: A middle-aged female without cardiac history presented to the ED with blurred vision & fatigue for 3 days. The patient was afebrile with a BP of 183/97mmHg. Physical examination showed decreased visual acuity in the left eye. The EKG was normal. The patient underwent a CT scan brain that showed suspicion of bilateral occipital strokes. MRI brain revealed multiple small acute infarcts in the bilateral cerebral hemispheres & cerebellum. Blood cultures were negative. Telemetry did not show atrial fibrillation. Given a suspicion of cardioembolic stroke, the patient underwent a transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) which demonstrated a trileaflet aortic valve (AV) with abnormal irregular thickening of leaflets, concerning for vegetation & moderate-severe aortic regurgitation (AR). figure 1. Our patient was diagnosed with marantic endocarditis based on TEE & serial negative cultures. Apixaban was started. Further workup of the patient revealed bilateral pulmonary emboli. Abdominal imaging revealed a pelvic mass, ultimately diagnosed as clear-cell ovarian cancer. Interval TEE at 3 months demonstrated complete resolution of vegetations with preserved cusp motion & mild AR. A shared decision was made to continue lifelong anticoagulation.Discussion: NBTE commonly involves mitral & AV. Risk factors include trauma, circulating immune complexes, hypercoagulability, malignancy & acute inflammation. Symptoms result from embolization, valve dysfunction, or impaired cardiac function. It is based on imaging after ruling out infectious etiologies. Management is anticoagulation & valve replacement with the treatment of the underlying etiology. Valve replacement prevents future embolic complications.