Prophylaxis for the Prevention of Infective Endocarditis

A new guideline from the American Heart Association includes some major changes in recommendations.

Even in high-risk patients, infective endocarditis (IE) is more likely to result from exposure to random bacteremia than from procedures associated with transient bacteremia (e.g., dental cleaning or extraction). The American Heart Association’s last guideline regarding the prevention of IE was released in 1997; given additional data that have accumulated during the past decade, the AHA has updated that guideline. The message in the new guideline is quite clear: Substantially less prophylaxis should be offered to patients. Highlights include:

1. Only high-risk patients with the following specific cardiac conditions should be offered prophylaxis:

Prosthetic cardiac valve
Previous IE
Congenital heart disease (e.g., unrepaired cyanotic disease, co…

Reviewing Author

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)