Infective endocarditis in low-risk patients

By Mr Kaushalendra Rathore, Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Nedlands, and Dr Manju Rathore GP, East Victoria Park

Infective endocarditis (IE) is an uncommon but fatal infection that targets the endocardium, especially around the inlet-outlet cardiac valves.

In 90-95% of patients aetiology is bacterial and the rest can be a fungal organism. Often severe IE is seen in high-risk patients with a history of various systemic co-morbidities. These cases are managed with the highest suspicion and often get early referral for further evaluation.

However, there is a sizable subset of the patient population at low risk who may get...

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