Staphylococcus endocarditis associated with infectious vasculitis and recurrent cerebral hemorrhages

Background: Patients with infectious endocarditis, who do not respond to conservative medical therapy usually need rapid valve surgery. This poses a difficult dilemma in patients with intracranial aneurysms and hemorrhage, although endovascular treatment of infectious aneurysms might be an advantage in therapy in these patients. Methods: We present a patient with ruptured infectious intracranial aneurysm complicating endocarditis with hemorrhage after successful coil occlusion of the aneurysm and review the literature on studies reporting endovascular treatment in adults with infectious aneurysms. Results: In total 34 adults have been reported with endovascular treatment of infectious aneurysms. All patients were initially presented with hemorrhage. Reported mortality rate was low (6%), and neurologic disability was reported in 37% of other patients. Rehemorrhage has been described in one other patient after endovascular treatment of an infectious aneurysm after rupture of a new aneurysm. In our patient, CT suggested a generalized cerebral infectious vasculitis. Conclusions: Endovascular treatment of infectious aneurysms seems to be a great advantage, but endovascular coiling may not prevent hemorrhage associated with panvasculitis rupture of a new aneurysm.