Mitral annular abscess; echocardiographic detection
Bapat, A.N.; Malik, A.; Delano, B.G.; Stein, R.A.; Krasnow, N.
New York State Journal of Medicine 81(9): 1335-1340
1981
ISSN/ISBN: 0028-7628 PMID: 6943443 Document Number: 168699
Three patients are described who had chronic renal failure requiring maintenance hemodialysis, all of whom had staphylococcal endocarditis with flail mitral valves and a new echocardiographic finding indicating abscess formation in the posterior mitral annulus. One of these ring abscesses was superimposed on a calcified annulus. The ring abscess was identified in these cases by M-mode echocardiography; it may be predicted that cross-sectional, real-time echocardiography might be more sensitive in detecting this manifestation of endocarditis, if not all forms. While all the present cases involved the mitral valve, ring abscess of the aortic annulus may be detected by echocardiography.