Role ofechocardiograph intedagnosis and management of infective endocarditis

H.AlHashimi, N.AlWimdy, J.C. McGhie, T.W.Galema, F.J. tenCate, M.L.Simoons Infective endocarditis isoneofthemostcommon causes ofserious infection andcarries ahighrisk ofmorbidity andmortality. Itrepresents thefourth leading cause oflife-threatening infections after urosepsis, pneumonia, andintra-abdominal sepsis. There isstill acontinuous rise intheincidence of infective endocarditis, witharate ofabout 20,000 newcases intheUnited States alone.' Thisrise in incidence ofinfective endocarditis ismainly caused byincreasing numbers ofintravenous drugabusers, patients withartificial valves andelderly patients. Inthis paper, wewill briefly review thecrucial role ofechocardiography inthediagnosis andmanagementofinfective endocarditis. (Neth HeartJ 2004;12:64-8.)