Antibiotic prophylaxis in patients undergoing radiological procedures who are at risk of infective endocarditis--do radiologists know what they are doing?
The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy has published guidelines recommending that all patients with prosthetic heart valves, or those with a previous history of bacterial endocarditis, should receive prophylactic antibiotics before procedures likely to cause a bacteraemia, due to the potential risk of bacterial endocarditis. The guidelines are widely available, notably in the British National Formulary. Two separate and independent surveys of radiologists in this Region showed that there was poor awareness of these guidelines and their implications for radiology departments.
Department of Radiology, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK.
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Chakraverty
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Baker
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D'Souza
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Chippindale
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D019072:Antibiotic Prophylaxis; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004697:Endocarditis, Bacterial / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011871:Radiology; D012307:Risk Factors
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents