[Pulmonary damage caused by right side infective endocarditis in intravenous drug users].
OBJECTIVE
To highlight the understanding of pulmonary damage caused by right side infective endocarditis (RIE).


METHODS
28 intravenous drug users with pulmonary damage caused by RIE from 1994 to 2000 were reviewed with chest roentgenogram, chest B-ultrasound, blood gas analysis and sputum cultures.


RESULTS
100% (28/28) cases with RIE showed pulmonary damage, in which cough 100% (28/28), expectoration 71% (20/28), breathlessness 64% (18/28), pleuritic chest pain 57% (16/28), hemoptysis 36% (10/28) rales were present in 20 cases (71%) (20/28). By chest X-rays 82% (23/28) patients showed pulmonary infiltrative lesion, 21% (6/28) showed multiple thin wall cystic lesion. manifestations for pulmonary embolism were shown in 6 cases (21%). Pleural effusion was confirmed by chest B-ultrasound in 6 cases (21%). Respiratory failure present in 4 cases (4/28). Positive rate of sputum cultures was 54% (15/28). The prognosis for twenty-three patients (82%) when treated with the regimen of 4 to 6 weeks of parenteral antibiotics was good, Five patients (18%) underwent surgery, and two of them died.


CONCLUSIONS
The pulmonary damage by RIE should be paid more attention to for avoiding misdiagnosis.
Zuo
L
L
Department of Respiratory Disease, the First People's Hospital of Shunde, Shunde 528300, China.
Guo
S
S
Rong
F
F
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004697:Endocarditis, Bacterial / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D012128:Respiratory Distress Syndrome / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications*