Staphylococcus lugdunensis is part of the native flora in the inguinal region of the body. Inguinal surgeries, such as vasectomy, place carriers of this aggressive pathogen at risk for contamination. Native-valve endocarditis caused by coagulase-negative S. lugdunensis has a rapid and complicated clinical course. The pathogenicity of this organism is not limited to cardiac valvular destruction. We report the case of a 36-year-old man who presented with S. lugdunensis endocarditis, dysarthria, and hemiparesis 5 weeks after a vasectomy. To our knowledge, this is the first report of embolic stroke caused by S. lugdunensis endocarditis. In addition, we discuss the relevant medical literature.
Keywords: Endocarditis, bacterial/diagnosis/drug therapy/etiology/surgery; heart valve diseases/surgery; intracranial embolism and thrombosis/complications; mitral valve insufficiency/microbiology; postoperative complications; staphylococcal infections/complications/drug therapy/etiology; stroke/etiology; treatment outcome; vasectomy/adverse effects.