Peri-procedural antibiotic prophylaxis in ventricular septal defect: a case study to re-visit guidelines

Nadish Garg; Mannu Nayyar; Rami N Khouzam; Salem A Salem; Devarshi Ardeshna

doi:10.21037/atm.2017.11.11

Peri-procedural antibiotic prophylaxis in ventricular septal defect: a case study to re-visit guidelines

Ann Transl Med. 2018 Jan;6(1):18. doi: 10.21037/atm.2017.11.11.

Authors

Nadish Garg¹, Mannu Nayyar¹, Rami N Khouzam¹, Salem A Salem¹, Devarshi Ardeshna²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cardiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
² Medical Student, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.

Abstract

The current American Heart Association (AHA)/American College of Cardiology (ACC) guidelines do not recommend antibiotic prophylaxis for infective endocarditis (IE) in patients with acyanotic congenital valvular heart disease due to lack of any proven benefit and potential harm associated with antibiotics. As recognized by the guidelines, some acyanotic congenital heart disease, such as ventricular septal defects (VSDs), are associated with a high velocity jet and pose a greater risk of peri-procedural endocarditis. We suggest that an acyanotic congenital heart disease with high velocity jet should be considered for antibiotic prophylaxis for IE.

Keywords: Ventricular septal defect (VSD); antibiotic prophylaxis; infective endocarditis (IE).

Publication types

Case Reports