Acinetobacter baumannii and endocarditis, rare complication but important clinical relevance

The incidence of infective endocarditis (IE) is 1.5–4.95 cases per 100,000 individuals per year, with a mortality of 14–46% one year after the infection. Most of IE cases are caused by gram-positive cocci, including Staphylococci, Streptococci and Enterococci. Only a small number of cases are due to gram-negative bacilli. Acinetobacter baumannii is a gramnegative, non-motile coccobacillus. It is widely distributed in the environment. Its ability to survive even in hostile conditions allows it to a wide circulation in the hospital setting,where it is to date themost fearsome germ responsible for nosocomial infections.