Prognostic Assessment of Infective Endocarditis Using Echocardiography

Staphylococcus aureus species have emerged as the most common cause of both native and prosthetic valve infective endocarditis (IE) in industrialized countries.1 In addition, patients with IE caused by S aureus have significantly higher mortality rates than patients with nonstaphylococcal bacterial causes of IE, including Streptococci, the leading cause of IE in past decades when rheumatic heart disease was more prevalent and the onset of IE was more commonly subacute.2,3 Unfortunately, S aureus can cause IE on previously normal native valves, although antecedent valve disease (bicuspid, myxomatous, etc) remains an important risk factor in susceptible patients.4See Article by Lauridsen et al Investigators participating in the International Collaboration on Endocarditis5 have provided a great deal of observational information on the presenting characteristics, evaluation, management, and early outcomes of patients with IE. Using a merged database comprising u003e2200 patients with definite IE⇓ from 5 countries, Miro …