A 61 year old diabetic man injured his toe, which became infected, and subsequently developed osteomyelitis (an infection of the bone), which failed to respond to treatment, and the toe was amputated. Several months later, he suddenly became ill, with high fever and rigors (involuntary vigorous shivering), and he was admitted to hospital. Examination of the heart revealed a murmur caused by regurgitant flow through the mitral valve. Blood culture yielded Staphylococcus aureus ("golden staph"), and his fever was temporarily reduced by intravenous antibiotic therapy. However, the next day his temperature suddenly rose to 39.2°C, his heart rate rose and his blood pressure fell, and he died in septic shock. Postmortem revealed acute staphylococcal endocarditis, with septic infarcts in the spleen, kidneys and brain.