Complication of nasal piercing by Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis: a case report and a review of literature

Body piercing, a growing trend especially in young people, is often complicated by severe infections. We present a case of acute bacterial endocarditis by Staphylococcus aureus complicated by multiple cerebral, kidney, spleen embolisms in a young girl, with no known previous cardiac abnormalities, following the piercing of nasal septum. This case highlights the importance of education of patients with and without structural heart disease to the potential dangerous and even life threatening infectious complications of piercing, and stimulate further discussion on the possibility of antibiotic prophylaxis of such procedures.