Infective endocarditis: the features of its clinical course and the prognosis

The paper covers an investigation of 150 patients with infective endocarditis (IE), including 100 patients (aged 18 to 30 years old) with intravenous drug abuse as the main risk factor. This subgroup is characterized by an acute clinical course of IE, with tricuspid valve disorder in most cases and septic pulmonary embolism relapse in 72% of cases. Heart failure, multiple cardiac valvular disorder and focal lung destruction were found to be the main factors of unfavorable outcome. A relation between the size of vegetation on the heart valves and the mortality rate was established. At the same time, secondary immunodeficiency due to HIV-infection had no significant effect on the mortality rate in the group of drug addicts. More frequent cases of heart failure with systemic circulation embolism lead to higher hospital mortality in the group of patients with a subacute clinical course of IE. In elderly patients other concomitant pathology resulted in late IE detection and a high mortality rate.     

Infectious endocarditis in intravenous drug abusers

Clinical course of infectious endocarditis (IE) was analysed for 43 intravenous drug abusers. 42 of them had primary IE, one patient--secondary. Acute course and high activity of the disease were registered in 86% of the patients. IE was provoked by Staphylococcus aureus (50%), Staphylococcus epidermidis 920%), Staphylococcus haemolyticus (11%), E. coli (8%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2%), Candida albicans (2%), mixed microflora (7%). Vegetations were detected on the tricuspid, mitral and aortic valves (52, 23 and 19%, respectively), on more than one valve (6%). Pneumonia, pleuricy, hydrothorax, enlargement of the liver, spleen, nephritis and anemia were found in 76, 44, 9, 100, 75, 70 and 88% of the patients, respectively. Cardiac failure aggravated the disease in half of the patients, lethality was 18%. Thus, IE in intravenous drug abusers is characterized by a primary form, acute active course, prevalent damage to the tricuspid valve, polyorganic involvement, high lethality. IE cure in such patients is feasible only in adequate antibacterial therapy, timely surgical correction and giving up drug abuse.     

Effectiveness of combined treatment of infective endocarditis

The purpose of the study was to develop and perfect complex therapy of modern infective endocarditis (IE). Ten-year experience in clinical diagnostics of 240 patients with acute, subacute, and lingering IE was summarized; the effectiveness of their treatment was evaluated. The features of modern IE were acute and subacute course of the disease with the involvement of aortal (37.8% of cases), tricuspid (16.8%), mitral (15.2%) valve, and septicemia, caused by highly virulent microflora (staphylococci--51% of cases; gram-negative bacteria--13%; fungi--5%). The clinical manifestations of modern IE included toxic infectious syndrome (24% of cases), heart failure (21%), symptoms of complications (16%), central hemodynamics disturbances (12%), and splenomegaly (8%). The treatment included antibacterial, pathogenetic, and symptomatic therapy, as well as extracorporal hemocorrection and cardiosurgery. Analysis of the results of surgical treatment of 140 IE patients allowed development of indications for valve prosthesis.     

Echocardiography--prognosis of the course of infectious endocarditis and long-term survival in this disease

AIM: To determine prognostic opportunities of echocardiography (ECG) in infectious endocarditis (IE) basing on the assessment of microbial vegetations size and degree of valvular failure. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Of 114 patients with definite IE (72 male, 42 female), 90 ones had primary and 24 secondary endocarditis. The prospective study included all the survivors in the IE active stage--78 patients. RESULTS: Vegetations > 1 cm in size were detected in 50.8% patients, < 1 cm--in 49.2%. Hospital lethality in vegetations > 1 cm and < 1 cm was 25.8 and 16.1%, respectively. Thromboembolism rate was 81 and 64.2%, respectively. One-year survival was 78.7 and 71.4%, two-year survival 66.5 and 61.7%, three-year survival 66.5 and 49.4%, five-year survival--51.7 and 32.9% in vegetations < 1 cm and > 1 cm, respectively. Valvular regurgitation of the first degree was in 17.5%, of the second degree--in 41.9%, third-fourth degree--in 36.6% patients. Hospital lethality in mitral valve failure was 32.1%, in aortic and tricuspid failure--17.8 and 11.4%, respectively. CONCLUSION: EchoCG was most effective for predicting thromboembolism and cardiac failure. Valvular regurgitation of the third-fourth degree significantly correlates with severe cardiac failure. ECG is less informative for predicting hospital lethality.     

Influence of Early Surgical Treatment on the Prognosis of Left-Sided Infective Endocarditis: A Multicenter Cohort Study

ObjectiveTo analyze the influence of early valve operation on mortality in patients with left-sided infective endocarditis (IE).Patients and MethodsA multicenter cohort study was carried out between 1990 and 2010. Data from consecutive patients with definite IE and possible left-sided IE were collected. Propensity score matching and adjustment for survivor bias were used to control for confounders. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality.ResultsA total of 1019 patients with a mean age of 61 years (interquartile range, 47-71 years) were included. Early surgical treatment was performed in 417 episodes (40.9%). By propensity score, we matched 316 episodes: 158 who underwent early surgical treatment and 158 who did not (medical treatment group). In-hospital mortality and late mortality were lower in the surgically treated group (26.6% vs 41.8%; absolute risk reduction [ARR], −15.2%; P=.004 and 29.7% vs 46.2%; ARR, −16.5%; P=.002, respectively). Operation was independently associated with a lower risk of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.22-0.79; P=.007). Operation was associated with reduced mortality in patients with paravalvular complications (ARR, −40.5%), severe heart failure (ARR, −32%), and native valve endocarditis (ARR, −17.8%).ConclusionThis study supports the benefit of surgical treatment in patients with left-sided IE carried out during the initial phase of hospitalization, especially in patients with moderate or severe heart failure and paravalvular extension of infection.     

超声心动图诊断感染性心内膜炎的意义

目的　探讨感染性心内膜炎 (IE)患者的超声心动图的特征性改变及诊断意义。方法　 17例IE患者进行了经胸超声心动图检查 ,探测赘生物的位置 ,大小 ,活动度及瓣膜功能。结果　男 11例 ,女 6例。平均年龄 3 4岁 (年龄范围 2～76岁 )。超声心动图检查发现 16例自身瓣膜和 1例人工瓣膜有赘生物形成 ,其中 7个二尖瓣 ,9个主动脉瓣和 1个三尖瓣上有赘生物。平均赘生物大小 0 .8cm (范围 0 .3～ 1.6cm)。血培养葡萄球菌 4例 ,链球菌 4例 ,类酵母菌 1例 ,血培养阳性率 5 3 %。住院期间 4例死亡 (2 3 % ) ,11例充血性心衰 (64 % ) ,6例体循环栓塞 (3 5 % ) ,4例接受了瓣膜置换术 (2 3 % )。结论　超声心动图检测IE声像图观察比较直观 ,尤其在血培养阴性的IE患者尤为有用。超声心动图能探测到瓣膜的赘生物 ,提示严重心衰 ,对于需要早期外科手术的IE患者提供重要依据     

Infective endocarditis in the intensive care unit: clinical spectrum and prognostic factors in 228 consecutive patients

Objective To identify factors associated with in-hospital outcome of adult patients admitted to the ICU with infective endocarditis (IE). Design and setting Retrospective study performed in the two medical ICUs of a teaching hospital. Patients and participants The charts of all 228 consecutive patients aged 18 years or older admitted with infective IE between January 1993 and December 2000 were reviewed. All patients satisfied the modified Duke’s criteria for definite IE. Measurements and results There were 146 episodes of native valve endocarditis and 82 of prosthetic valve endocarditis. Staphylococcus aureus was the predominant causative micro-organism. Most complications occurred early during the course of IE. One-half of the patients underwent cardiac surgery during the same hospitalization and had a better outcome than nonoperated patients. The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 45% (102/228). Multivariate analysis revealed the following clinical factors in patients with native valve IE as independently associated with outcome: septic shock (odds ratio 4.81), cerebral emboli (3.00), immunocompromised state (2.88), and cardiac surgery (0.475); in patients with prosthetic valve IE the factors were: septic shock (4.07), neurological complications (3.1), and immunocompromised state (3.46). Conclusions IE still carries high morbidity and mortality rates for the subset of patients requiring ICU admission. Most complications occur early making the decision process for optimal medical and surgical management more difficult. Surgical treatment appears to improve in-hospital outcome. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article if you access the article at . A link in the frame on the left on that page takes you directly to the supplementary material.     

感染性心内膜炎伴心功能不全超声表现北大核心CSCD

目的观察感染性心内膜炎(IE)伴心功能不全超声表现及其诊断价值。方法回顾性收集98例IE伴心功能不全患者,根据纽约心脏协会(NYHA)分级将其分为NYHAⅡ级组(n=30)、NYHAⅢ级组(n=43)及NYHAⅣ级组(n=25);对比3组临床及超声资料,将组间差异有统计学意义的指标纳入logistic回归分析,观察各指标与IE伴心功能不全的关系。结果98例中,45例血培养阳性(45/98,45.92%),其中24例(24/45,53.33%)致病菌为甲型溶血性链球菌;67例(67/98,68.37%)合并心脏基础疾病,其中19例(19/67,28.36%)合并二叶主动脉瓣。经手术治疗后,77例症状减轻,NYHAⅢ级组8例、NYHAⅣ级组13例死亡。3组合并瓣膜反流、赘生物累及多个瓣膜及瓣叶穿孔病例占比差异均有统计学意义(P均<0.05),且重度瓣膜反流、赘生物累及多个瓣膜及瓣叶穿孔是评估IE伴心功能不全分级的独立预测因素(P均<0.05)。结论IE伴心功能不全超声心动图可表现为重度瓣膜反流、赘生物累及多个瓣膜和瓣叶穿孔;根据上述表现可预测其分级。     

感染性心内膜炎38例临床分析

目的 探讨感染性心内膜炎（IE）的临床特点,诊断,治疗方法及转归.方法 回顾分析近17年38例感染性心内膜炎患者的临床特征及诊断.结果 ①38例患者中36例为自体心脏瓣膜心内膜炎,2例为人工瓣膜心内膜炎.36例自体瓣膜心内膜炎中,基础心脏病占72.22%（26/36）,其中风湿性心脏病占36.11%（13/36）,先天性心脏病占22.22%（8/36）,原发性二尖瓣脱垂占8.33%（3/36）,高血压性心脏病占2.78%（1/36）.心肌病占2.78%（1/36）.②38例患者临床表现包括发热100%（38/38）,寒颤57.89%（22/38）.贫血55.26%（21/38）.脾肿大50%（19/38）.脏器栓寒15.79%（6/38）.③血培养阳性率为31.58%（12/38）.其中8例为链球菌属,4例为葡萄球菌属.④38例患者中30例（78.94%）患者经单纯抗感染治疗后治愈,4例（11.1l%）患者经手术联合药物抗感染治疗后治愈,有4例（11.11%）合并心衰而死亡.⑤38例感染性心内膜炎患者中,无基础心脏病患者10例,有基础心脏病患者26例.10例无基础心脏病患者中有明确感染途径的占6例,26例有基础心脏病患者中有明确感染途径的占7例,两者感染途径阳性率比较差异有统计学意义（P=0.006）.结论 感染性心内膜炎最常见的基础心脏病是风湿性瓣膜病、先天性心脏病、二尖瓣脱垂;对于长期不明原因发热,应考虑有感染性心内膜炎的可能,有明确感染途径而长期发热者应高度怀疑感染性心内膜炎.超声心动图有助于感染性心内膜炎的诊断,血培养阳性率并不高.合并心力哀竭者则预后不良.     

Infective endocarditis in patients receiving long-term hemodialysis

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the predominant characteristics of patients receiving long-term dialysis who develop infective endocarditis (IE). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed the records of all chronic hemodialysis patients who had IE at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn, between 1983 and 1997. RESULTS: Twenty episodes of IE occurred in 17 patients. One patient had 3 episodes of IE, and 1 patient had 2 episodes of IE; each episode was caused by a different organism. The mean +/- SD age of our patients was 63 +/- 11 years; there were 13 males; 6 patients had diabetes mellitus; and the mean +/- SD duration of hemodialysis prior to IE was 24.2 +/- 20.5 months. This analysis included 10 episodes of IE (occurring in 9 patients) within the Mayo Clinic Dialysis System during which time 223,358 hemodialysis treatments were delivered, giving a rate of 10 IE episode per 223,336 hemodialysis treatments. Among all 20 IE episodes, there were 14 synthetic arteriovenous grafts, 4 permanent venous dialysis catheters, 2 temporary venous dialysis catheters, and 2 native arteriovenous fistulas (2 accesses in 2 patients), and access had been in place for a mean +/- SD of 15.9 +/- 18.6 months. The portal of infection was the hemodialysis access in 13 episodes of IE. The causative organisms for IE were Staphylococcus aureus in 8 cases, Enterococcus sp in 4 cases, viridans streptococcus in 3 cases, Staphylococcus epidermidis in 2 cases, and 1 case each of Streptococcus bovis, group G beta-hemolytic streptococcus, and Aspergillus sp. The mitral valve was involved in 9 cases, the aortic valve was involved in 5 cases, and the tricuspid and pulmonic valves were involved in 1 case each. Patient survival (after the first episode of IE) was 71% at 30 days; 53% at 60 days; and 35% at 1 year. Echocardiography was performed in 19 episodes of IE. The transthoracic echocardiogram was 62.5% sensitive and 40% specific for the presence of definite or probable vegetations. Univariate analysis for factors affecting 60-day survival show that presence of right-sided IE, vegetation size greater than 2.0 cm3, diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, and initial leukocyte count greater than 12.5 x 10(9)/L were poor prognostic factors. Aortic valve involvement carried a better prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Infective endocarditis in hemodialysis patients is relatively infrequent but has a high mortality. Patients with synthetic intravascular dialysis angioaccess (synthetic grafts and venous catheters) are more likely to develop IE than patients with native arteriovenous fistulas. Transesophageal echocardiography is a preferred echocardiographic study for suspected cases of IE. Prolonged antibiotic therapy is needed for all patients, and close monitoring is needed for patients with right-sided IE, large vegetations, diabetes mellitus, and an elevated leukocyte count.     

Tricuspid valve endocarditis: Cardiovascular imaging evaluation and management

Right-sided infective endocarditis is an increasingly recognized disease entity, with tricuspid valve being most frequently involved. Risk factors for tricuspid valve endocarditis (TVIE) include intravenous drug use, cardiac implantable electronic devices and indwelling catheters. Staphylococcus aureus is the predominant causative organism in TVIE. The diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) is based on clinical manifestations, blood cultures, and the presence of valvular vegetations detected by echocardiography. Complementary imaging is helpful when there is ongoing clinical suspicion for IE following initially negative echocardiography. Multislice computed tomography allows for assessment of extra-cardiac complications in TVIE, including pulmonary septic emboli. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography and radiolabelled white blood cell, single-photon emission computed tomography provide important clinical information concerning the presence of IE in right-sided prosthetic valves or cardiac implantable electronic devices. The aim of this review is to provide an update on TVIE, discussing the role of multimodality imaging in TVIE and the management of these patients.     

Approaches to late prognosis in patients with subacute infectious endocarditis

AIM: To ascertain late prognosis of subacute infectious endocarditis (IE), factors involved in the prognosis, formulate approaches to assessment of late prognosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective trial included 98 patients discharged from a hospital with diagnosis "subacute IE", treated without surgery or without endocarditis of the prosthesis. The diagnosis was verified at echocardiography. A mean follow-up 4.8 +/- 3.7 years. Clinical and echo-CG follow-up findings were computer-processed. RESULTS: 5-year lethality was 31%. The patients died of cardiac failure (CF) and acute failure of cerebral circulation (84 and 16%, respectively). Late complications in the survivors were the following: severe CF (18 patients, 32%), moderate CF (18 patients, 32%), recurrent IE (12 patients, 20%). Such factors as IE variant (primary or secondary), affection of the aortic valve, severity of regurgitation, size of the left ventricle, CF progression in the acute phase proved to have a significant influence on late prognosis. CONCLUSION: The prevalent cause of death in IE is CF. The progression of CF depends on combination of the above factors. High risk group patients should be examined by a cardio-surgeon even in the absence of clinical symptoms of CF.     

三尖瓣病变外科手术的疗效评估

目的:探讨三尖瓣病变的不同手术方法和术后长期疗效。方法:1979年7月至1998年6月施行三尖瓣病变外科手术51例中,三尖瓣病变中有三尖瓣下移畸形33例,三尖瓣发育不全10例,感染性三尖瓣内膜炎3例,外伤性三尖瓣关闭不全、人工瓣膜功能异常各2例和Uhl’s病1例。51例中,瓣膜替换术37例,瓣膜成形术14例。附加手术有房缺修补术、室缺修补术、房化心室折叠术和缝补术。结果:住院死亡5例,死亡率为9.8％。死亡病例中3例为低心排综合征,2例气管套管并发症。长期随访生物瓣膜死亡4例,为心力衰竭、心律失常;机械瓣死亡1例,为瓣膜栓塞;瓣膜成形术14例无死亡,心功能明显改善。讨论:超声多普勒可明确诊断三尖瓣病变,三维超声可了解瓣叶、瓣下结构和瓣叶下移程度。病变中—重度、瓣叶发育较好、前瓣叶足够大小可施行瓣膜成形术。瓣膜发育不全、严重关闭不全可施行瓣膜替换术。成形手术疗效好,无瓣膜替换术潜在并发症。瓣膜成形术尽可能作为首选手术方案。     

Transesophageal echocardiographic evaluation of tricuspid valve regurgitation during pacemaker and implantable cardioverter defibrillator lead extraction

Chronically implanted ventricular pacing and defibrillator (ICD) leads can adhere to the tricuspid valve. This study examined the effect of lead extraction, and laser sheath extraction in particular, on tricuspid valve regurgitation. Lead extraction was first tried with traction using limited force followed by a laser sheath if not successful. Tricuspid valve regurgitation before and after extraction was evaluated with transesophageal echocardiography and graded from 0 (none) to 4 (severe). A change in regurgitation was considered clinically relevant if it increased with two grades or more and resulted in at least grade 3 regurgitation. Fifty ventricular leads were extracted in 43 consecutive patients, including 14 ICD leads. In 20 patients (group I) leads were removed without a (laser) sheath crossing the tricuspid valve, in 23 patients (group II) leads were extracted with lasing across the valve. The mean time from implant was 43 +/- 43 months and 99 +/- 78 months, respectively, (P = 0.007). Tricuspid regurgitation increased in five (12%) patients. In group I only in one patient the laser failed proximal of the valve and forceful traction was subsequently used, and in group II this occurred in four (17%) patients. This difference did not reach statistical significance even excluding the patient from group I (P = 0.111). The increase of tricuspid regurgitation cautions against indiscriminate extraction of superfluous leads. There is a trend that when tools like a laser sheath are necessary the chance of tricuspid valve damage increases.     

Dopplerography of the large hepatic veins in the diagnosis of tricuspid valve insufficiency

During pulse dopplerography of the large hepatic veins in patients with tricuspid valve failure, the differences in the shape of the spectrum of Doppler's frequencies were revealed as dependent on cardiac rhythm. In sinus rhythm, the curve of the systolic flow is recordable beneath the baseline, in atrial fibrillation, over the baseline. In scanning of the large hepatic veins in patients with tricuspid valve failure, the shape of the curves of the spectrum of Doppler's frequencies coincides with the shape of the curves of liver pulsation. Tricuspid valve failure in sinus rhythm leads to a decrease of the maximum velocity of the systolic flow in the hepatic veins. There is a close correlation between the maximum velocity of the systolic flow of tricuspid regurgitation and the maximum velocity of the systolic flow in the large hepatic veins. Pulse dopplerography of the large hepatic veins is a safe enough method of the diagnosis of tricuspid valve failure and can be used in difficult cases when analysing the tricuspid blood flow from standard projections.     

Outcomes and Echocardiographic Follow-up After Surgical Management of Tricuspid Regurgitation in Patients With Transvenous Right Ventricular Leads

ObjectiveTo evaluate outcomes of elective surgical management of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) in patients with transvenous right ventricular leads, and compare results between non–lead-induced and lead-induced TR patients.Patients and MethodsWe studied patients with right ventricular leads who underwent tricuspid valve surgery from January 1, 1993, through December 31, 2015, and categorized them as non–lead-induced and lead-induced TR. Propensity score (PS) for the tendency to have lead-induced TR was estimated from logistic regression and was used to adjust for group differences.ResultsFrom the initial cohort of 470 patients, 444 were included in PS-adjustment analyses (174 non–lead-induced TRs [123 repairs, 51 replacements], 270 lead-induced TRs [129 repairs, 141 replacements]). In PS-adjusted multivariable analysis, lead-induced TR was not associated with mortality (P=.73), but tricuspid valve replacement was (hazard ratio, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.13 to 2.25; P=.008). Five-year freedom from tricuspid valve re-intervention was 100% for non–lead-induced TR and 92.3% for lead-induced TR; rates adjusted for PS differed between groups (P=.005). There was significant improvement in TR postoperatively in each group (P<.001). In patients having tricuspid valve repair, TR grades tended to worsen over time, but the difference in trends was not significantly different between groups.ConclusionLead-induced TR did not affect long-term survival after elective tricuspid valve surgery. In patients with lead-induced TR, tricuspid valve re-intervention was more common. Improvement in TR was achieved in both groups after surgery; however, severity of TR tended to increase over follow-up after tricuspid valve repair.     

自体心包重建隔瓣在三尖瓣下移瓣膜成形术中的应用

目的 报告在三尖瓣下移瓣膜成形术中应用自体心包重建隔瓣的方法和疗效。方法 对15例超声心动图示三尖瓣中～重反流合并隔瓣发育不良的三尖瓣下移畸形的患者，应用自体心包重建发育不良的瓣叶，同时环缩扩大的瓣环及折叠房化心室，并修补合并的房间隔缺损或卵圆孔未闭。结果 15例患者无手术死亡，出院前超声检查显示三尖瓣无或少量反流。随访2个月至50个月，复查超声显示无反流9例，少量反流5例，中－重度反流1例, 心功能I级6例，心功能II级8例，心功能III级1例。结论 在三尖瓣下移瓣膜成形术中应用自体心包重建隔瓣可以获得满意的早期和中期疗效。     

双瓣膜替换术76例临床体会

目的 :总结 76例双瓣膜替换术的经验。方法 :对 76例风湿性心脏病 ,联合瓣膜病患者施行双瓣膜替换术。术中对合并三尖瓣功能性关闭不全的患者施行Devega成形术。结果 :术后出现低心排综合征 7例 ,出血及心包填塞 5例 ,室性心律失常 6例 ,肾衰 3例 ,呼吸功能不全 4例 ,消化道出血及精神障碍各 2例。术后死亡 3例 ,死亡率 3 94% ,死亡原因分别是低心排 ,室性心律失常 ,肾功能衰竭。结论 :对联合瓣膜病变的患者 ,需加强围术期处理 ,术中强调平稳灌注 ,积极处理三尖瓣关闭不全 ,重症患者术中保留二尖瓣的瓣下结构可改进术后左心室的收缩功能     

风湿性心脏病二尖瓣置换术后三尖瓣返流的再手术治疗

目的分析风湿性心脏病二尖瓣置换术后再发三尖瓣返流（TR）患者的临床特点、外科手术方法和疗效,总结围手术期处理经验。方法2000年1月至2011年12月,17例风湿性心脏病二尖瓣置换术后再发三尖瓣返流的患者在我院接受单纯再次三尖瓣手术,行三尖瓣成形术10例,包括单纯DeVega成形术1例、瓣叶成形＋人工瓣环成形9例;行三尖瓣置换术7例,其中置换生物瓣4例,双叶机械瓣3例,回顾性分析其临床表现、诊治经过和预后情况。结果术后早期死亡1例（5．88％,1／17）,死于术后左心功能衰竭。术后发生低心排血量综合征3例,肾功能不全2例,呼吸功能不全2例,均成功救治。随访14例,随访时间3～9年,心功能I级2例,Ⅱ级8例,Ⅲ级4例。失访2例。结论对风湿性心脏病二尖瓣置换术后三尖瓣返流患者再手术治疗效果较好,合理掌握手术指征、手术时机和良好的围手术期处理是提高手术成功率的关键。     

Results of observation of infective endocarditis patients during 1965-2005

AIM: To clarify the trends in infective endocarditis by our experience for 40 years. MATERIAL AND METHODS: During the last 40 years (1965-2005) we observed 620 patients with infective endocarditis (IE). There were 615 patients with subacute IE (99.2%) and only 5 patients with acute IE (0.8%). There were 402 males (66.8%) and 218 females (35.2%). The age was 16-84 years (mean age 53 +/- 17). We studied the finding of hemoculture, echocardiography, immunological investigations, the levels of C-reactive protein. RESULTS: Streptococcal endocarditis runs a standard course, but more often we encountered staphylococcal, enterococcal endocarditis with a severe course. Predisposing cardiac disorders in 264 IE patients were rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease, mitral prolapse, involutive valve disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, prosthetic valve. CONCLUSION: Conventional and unconventional IE cases, recurrent IE, current criteria of IE are described.