A Distinct Clinical Entity of Invasive Cardiac Aspergillosis: Not the Heart Valves This Time

TL;DR

This paper explores a rare form of cardiac aspergillosis that does not involve heart valves, highlighting a new case and reviewing past reports.

Contribution

The paper introduces a new case of non-valvular cardiac aspergillosis and reviews historical cases to better understand this rare condition.

Findings

Non-valvular cardiac aspergillosis is rare and often presents with high mortality.

The paper reports a new case of Aspergillus pericarditis in an immunocompetent patient with kyphoscoliosis.

Abstract

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a life-threatening infection that mainly affects immunocompromised hosts. Cardiac involvement is rare but can be the sole presentation of IA. It is associated with a high mortality rate and mostly occurs in patients with pre-existing cardiac disease. It can also be seen in immunocompetent patients with a structurally normal heart. The reported cases of cardiac involvement are usually due to infectious endocarditis (IE) caused by Aspergillus species (most commonly Aspergillus fumigatus). However, there is limited data on non-valvular cardiac aspergillosis (NVCA). We reviewed 67 cases of NVCA published between 1950–2024 and reported an additional case from our institution involving a 48-year-old female with kyphoscoliosis diagnosed with Aspergillus pericarditis.

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