[Bacterial endocarditis due to Staphylococcus epidermidis. Two cases (author's transl)].

Bacterial endocarditis due to Staphylococcus epermidis is rare and severe. In a first patient, a 58-year-old-man, it developed 40 days after the insertion of a double prosthesis (mitral and aortic). Cure was obtained by medical treatment using a combination of vancomycin and gentamicin, followed by pristinamycin and tobramycin. The second patient, a 50-year-old-woman, suffering from cirrhogenic hepatitis and treated with corticosteroids. Staphylococcus epidermidis endocarditis developed without any portal of entry being discovered. After the failure of various antibiotic combinations (even though bactericidal in vitro), a mitral Starr valve was inserted which resulted in cure. None of the patients showed any sign of valvular mutilations or disinsertion of prosthesis.