Infective endocarditis of an interventricular patch caused byAcinetobacter haemolyticus

A case of infective endocarditis caused byAcinetobacter haemolyticus affecting an interventricular patch is reported. The patient, a 21-year-old man with a Fallot's tetralogy who had undergone cardiovascular surgery several years before, received imipenem and gentamicin for 6 and 4 weeks respectively and showed a good response without needing surgical treatment. Endocarditis byAcinetobacter species is very unusual and, to our knowledge, this is the first reported case of infective endocarditis caused byA. haemolyticus. As the clinical characteristics and the response to antibiotics appear to be similar to those reported for infective endocarditis byAcinetobacter lwoffi, prosthetic infective endocarditis byA. haemolyticus is apparently not always an indication for surgical treatment.