Libman-Sacks Endocarditis

Excerpt

Libman-Sacks endocarditis (LSE) was first described in four patients in 1924 by Emanuel Libman and Benjamin Sacks in New york. Libman-Sacks endocarditis, also named as nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis (NBTE) or marantic endocarditis, describes a broad spectrum of pathologies ranging from very small particles seen only with a microscope to large vegetations on previously normal heart valves (most often aortic and mitral). This term describes vegetations on the cardiac valves that are sterile and doesn't show any signs of infection. The initial development of Libman-Sacks endocarditis appears to be an endothelial injury in the setting of a hypercoagulable state. So they are mainly observed in patients with malignancies (mainly solid tumor: adenocarcinoma), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), which was first described in women in 1985, and antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS). Other terms used to describe these vegetations include verrucous endocarditis. Libman-Sacks endocarditis most commonly affects the mitral followed by aortic valves, but other valves may also be involved.