Right sided endocarditis secondary to prolonged intravenous cannulation

remains a burden in sub-Saharan Africa, due mainly to varied etiologies such as underlying rheumatic valvular heart disease, and HIV infection. Another often overlooked but seen risk factor is prolonged intravenous cannulation. In some cases, these are unnecessary and under unhygienic conditions, predisposing the unfortunate patients to right sided endocarditis. We present a case of tricuspid valve endocarditis secondary to prolonged intravenous cannulation. Case Report: The index patient was 24-year-old female with four previous pregnancies, being treated for pulmonary tuberculosis. Following history of amenorrhea, she was erroneously diagnosed to have ectopic pregnancy, and was offered laparotomy, with prolonged intravenous cannulation. Few weeks later she developed features of heart failure, and echocardiography showed massive right sided endocarditis, but while on evaluation she had sudden death while in the toilet from most likely pulmonary embolism. Conclusion: There is need to discourage prolonged intravenous access in resource poor settings while not underplaying the need to strive for best practices. At the same time there is need for manpower development in cardiovascular disease intervention so as to mitigate against prevent able cardiovascular mortality.