Subacute Bacterial Endocarditis Prophylaxis

Excerpt

Infective endocarditis is an infection of the heart's endocardial surfaces involving one or more heart valves. The incidence of infective endocarditis hospitalization rate is estimated at 12.7 per 100,000 annually in the United States. Most patients (57.7%) affected by this condition were male, and over one-third were aged 70 or older. Several risk factors can predispose patients to infective endocarditis, including structural heart disease (such as valvular disease or congenital heart disease), prosthetic heart valves, indwelling cardiovascular device, intravascular catheter, chronic hemodialysis, HIV infection, diabetes, or a prior history of infective endocarditis.