Medical Oddities: The ghost that haunted a heart

From haunted hearts to toxic treats, medicine has a few Halloween tricks up its sleeve.

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A 51-year-old man with intravenous drug use developed methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis affecting both mitral and tricuspid valves.
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Echocardiography showed a mobile mitral vegetation up to 20 mm, with mitral leaflet perforation, severe mitral regurgitation, and moderate tricuspid regurgitation.
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The patient underwent emergency mitral valve reconstruction and tricuspid valve repair after developing septic shock, multiorgan dysfunction, and pulmonary and splenic infarctions.
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Postoperative imaging showed good biventricular and valve function, and the patient was discharged after 44 hospital days despite mediastinitis and nosocomial pneumonia.
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The case report described the complexity of extensive bilateral infective endocarditis in a patient with a history of intravenous drug use.

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