| Abstract: | A total of 122 patients with subacute infectious endocarditis (SIE) were examined. Of these, 33 patients demonstrated an extremely severe disease course. In spite of adequate antibacterial treatment, the lethal outcome ensued within the first 2-2.5 years of the disease. A rapidly progressing variant of SIE was characterized by persistent fever, predominance of aortal heart diseases, renal injuries with an early development of renal failure, hemorrhagic vasculitis, relapsing thromboembolism, refractory heart failure, persistent anemia, lymphopenia, and by the presence of large movable vegetations discovered on echocardiography. |
