Division CVS-ENDO: Endocarditis

Endocarditis of a natural or prosthetic heart valve must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Patient has organisms cultured from valve or vegetation

• Patient has two or more of the following signs or symptoms with no other recognised cause: fever (> 38 °C), new or changing murmur, embolic phenomena, skin manifestations (e.g. petechiae, splinter haemorrhages, painful subcutaneous nodules), congestive heart failure, or cardiac conduction abnormality

AND at least one of the following:

• organisms cultured from two or more blood cultures

• organisms seen on Gram’s stain of valve when culture is negative or not done

• valvular vegetation seen during a surgical operation or autopsy

• positive antigen test on blood or urine (e.g. Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcuspneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, or Group B Streptococcus)

• evidence of new vegetation seen on echocardiogram

AND if diagnosis is made antemortem, physician institutes appropriate antimicrobial therapy