INFECTIVE ENDOCARDITIS DURING THE LAST 11 YEARS

• Published in: The KITAKANTO Medical Journal Vol. 35; no. 3Supplement; pp. 323 - 329
• Main Authors: NAGUMO, MAKOTO, FUJINUMA, HIDEO, HASEGAWA, AKIRA, TAKASE, SHIN-ICHI, HATORI, MASAKO
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: The Kitakanto Medical Society 01.07.1985
• Subjects: Blood culture; Congestive heart failure; Echocardiography; Infective endocarditis
• ISSN: 0023-1908; 1883-6135
• DOI: 10.2974/kmj1951.35.3Supplement_323

Clinical records of 23 cases of infective endocarditis admitted to our department during the last 11 years were reviewed. All had underlying heart disease : six had congenital heart disease and 17 had acquired valvular disease. The duration of the disease before the correct diagnosis was three months or longer in eight cases. Causative organisms were recovered in 16 patients (69.6%), while the blood culture was positive in 12 of 15 cases (80%) not receiving intravenous administration of antibiotics for at least seven days before admission. The most frequently recovered organism was streptococcus. viridans. Echocardiographic studies could reveal suggestive signs of the disease in 12 of 20 subjects. Congestive heart failure was a complication in 12 cases. Six patients died in the hospital, while three died after discharge. Of these, eight had acquired valvular disease. The mortality was high in the cases with negative blood culture. Marked anemia, low serum iron and low serum cholesterol also suggested a poor prognosis.