Abstrakt: |
182 patients with infectious endocarditis (IE) were examined for correlations between valvular bacterial vegetations and IE activity, course, results of bacteriological and morphological findings. 81 of the patients had primary IE, 71 patients had secondary IE which had developed in uncorrected valvular heart disease, in 30 patients secondary IE had developed after surgical correction of rheumatic heart disease. It is shown that echocardiographic detection of bacterial vegetations does not determine IE severity, course and outcome. |