Infective endocarditis resident survival guide

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Farman Khan, MD, MRCP [2]

Definition

Infection of the endothelium of the heart including but not limited to the valves. It can be either acute or subacute. Acute bacterial endocarditis is defined as Infection of normal heart valves with a virulent organism like S. aureus, Group A or other beta-hemolytic streptococci, Strep pneumoniae. Subacute bacterial endocarditis is an indolent infection of abnormal valves with less virulent organism like Streptococcus viridans.

Causes

Life Threatening Causes

Life-threatening causes include conditions which may result in death or permanent disability within 24 hours if left untreated.

• Life threatening cause 1
• Life threatening cause 2
• Life threatening cause 3

Common Causes

• Common cause 1
• Common cause 2
• Common cause 3
• Common cause 4
• Common cause 5

Management

Shown below is an algorithm summarizing the approach to Endocarditis.

References

Template:WikiDoc Sources