POSTOPERATIVE ENDOCARDITIS DUE TO PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA

Congenital cardiac anomalies, including a large interatrial septal defect, were repaired surgically in a 14-year-old girl. After an asymptomatic period of 20 weeks she began to have recurrent fever. Vigorous antibiotic treatment had only temporary effects. Reoperation showed that the original defects had been corrected but that one end of a silk suture was hanging free in the lumen of the right atrium and harboring Pseudomonas aeruginosa in pure culture. Removal of the suture was followed by uneventful recovery, ultimate resumption of full activity, and a satisfactory adolescence.