[Actinobacillus actinomycetem comitans endocarditis. Report of a case and review of the literature].

A case of infectious endocarditis caused by Actinobacillus actinomycetem comitans in a young male is presented. The clinical features and the microbiologic data are reviewed as well as the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures including the echocardiographic findings. A review of the literature is presented with 23 cases of endocarditis caused by this bacterium. An analysis of the cases with special emphasis in clinical presentation, predisposing factors, complications and antimicrobial therapy is made. A. actinomycetem comitans could be a cause of blood culture negative endocarditis due to the slow growth of the bacterium and the subacute course of the disease.