title: Current best practices and guidelines. Assessment and management of complications in infective endocarditis.
abstract: The most important complications of endocarditis are congestive heart failure, paravalvular abscess formation, and embolism, especially stroke. In addition, endocarditis may be complicated by septic arthritis, vertebral osteomyelitis, pericarditis, metastatic abscesses and an array of renal problems ranging from immune-complex glomerulonephritis to renal abscesses. Adverse reactions associated with medical treatment of endocarditis can also result in significant complications such as ototoxicity and nephrotoxicity, skin rashes, and serum sickness. This review focuses on the cardiac, embolic, neurologic and renal complications of endocarditis and discusses how these complications influence the clinical management of individual cases in daily practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Box 3605, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. sexto002@mc.duke.edu
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Sexton
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Spelman
mesh_terms: D000038:Abscess / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology; D000368:Aged; D019468:Disease Management; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D004696:Endocarditis / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology; D004697:Endocarditis, Bacterial / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology; D009181:Mycoses / Q000150:complications; D020521:Stroke / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology