Infective Endocarditis

Abstract

Infective endocarditis is a microbial infection of a cardiac valve or the mural endocardium caused by bacteria or fungi. Forms of this infection include subacute bacterial endocarditis (SBE) and acute bacterial endocarditis (ABE). Etiology and epidemiology are discussed. There is a section on pathogenesis followed by specific clinical presentations, including endocarditis associated with parenteral drug abuse as well as prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE). Diagnosis and cardiac complications of endocarditis, treatment, recommendations for prophylaxis, and prognosis are addressed. There are several figures showing manifestations and anatomic relations from the infection. Tables describe microorganisms that cause native valve endocarditis, the etiology of PVE, the Duke criteria for diagnosis of infective endocarditis, antimicrobial therapy for endocarditis in adults, guidelines to prevent endocarditis, and recommendations and regimens for endocarditis prophylaxis. This chapter contains 99 references.