Infective Endocarditis

Key points

• • Infective endocarditis is infection of the heart's inner lining, especially the valves, where organisms settle and grow.
• • Bacteria in the blood, from dental work, a skin infection or injecting drug use, lodge on a damaged or artificial valve.
• • Clumps of bacteria, platelets and clot form vegetations, which can break off and travel as emboli to the brain and elsewhere.
• • Features include fever, a new or changed heart murmur, and small signs from emboli such as splinter haemorrhages and Janeway lesions.
• • The diagnosis rests on blood cultures and an echocardiogram that shows the vegetations, guided by the Duke criteria.