Rawal Harsh, Joshi Udit, Parekh Jai
Internal Medicine, Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Chicago, USA.
Cardiovascular Medicine, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, Peoria, USA.
Cureus. 2021 Dec 27;13(12):e20740. doi: 10.7759/cureus.20740. eCollection 2021 Dec.
Eustachian valve (EV) is usually a rudimentary structure in adults. It is an embryological remnant of sinus venosus that directs oxygenated blood from the inferior vena cava across the foramen ovale and into the left atrium. Intravenous drug use is most commonly associated with infective endocarditis of the right-sided heart structures. Other documented causes of such an occurrence are intracardiac devices like pacemakers and central venous catheters. Patients presenting with concerns of infection and embolic phenomenon should promptly undergo evaluation for infective endocarditis. Although an embryological remnant, the eustachian valve normally regresses after birth, except in a minority of the patients, it persists as a vestigial structure. Here we present an unusual case involving infective endocarditis of the eustachian valve and tricuspid valve both in a patient with recent automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (AICD) placement and history of IV drug abuse and its systemic consequences in a patient with patent foramen ovale.
咽鼓管瓣膜（EV）在成年人中通常是一种退化结构。它是静脉窦的胚胎残余物，可引导来自下腔静脉的含氧血液穿过卵圆孔进入左心房。静脉注射毒品最常与右侧心脏结构的感染性心内膜炎相关。其他已记录的导致这种情况发生的原因是心脏内装置，如起搏器和中心静脉导管。出现感染和栓塞现象的患者应立即接受感染性心内膜炎的评估。尽管咽鼓管瓣膜是胚胎残余物，但通常在出生后会退化，少数患者除外，它会作为残留结构持续存在。在此，我们报告一例罕见病例，该患者近期植入了自动植入式心脏复律除颤器（AICD），有静脉注射毒品史，患有咽鼓管瓣膜和三尖瓣感染性心内膜炎，以及卵圆孔未闭患者的全身后果。
