Prosthetic valve endocarditis caused by Mycoplasma hominis

Mycoplasma hominis endocarditis is extremely uncommon and difficult ot diag nose. Atypical growth characteristics in routine bacterial culture and an i nability to demonstrate the organism using Gram staining can lead to a dela yed diagnosis of Mycoplasma hominis infections, and the organism is often m issed. This report describes a patient with Mycoplasma hominis prosthetic v alve endocarditis. The microorganism was recovered from the mitral prosthes is but was missed in blood cultures. This finding suggests that Mycoplasma hominis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of culture-negat ive endocarditis.