Candida Albicans Endocarditis

Abstract

TO OUR knowledge only 37 cases of Candida albicans endocarditis have so far been reported,¹ with only four survivals among them. The first diagnosis of Candida endocarditis before death was made in 1940.² In the patient to be described in the present report, C albicans was cultured from the blood during life, and she was still well eight months after treatment had been concluded. Report of a Case An 8-year-old Bantu girl was admitted to the Pretoria General Hospital on Oct 12, 1964, with a history of epistaxis for three days, and dyspnea on effort for a few months. About ten months earlier, she had been treated in the same hospital for Sydenham's chorea, and mitral stenosis and insufficiency had then been noted. After a ten-week period of hospitalization she was discharged, but failed to attend the outpatient department thereafter for observation and continuation of prophylactic penicillin therapy.