Repeat infective endocarditis: differentiating relapse from reinfection.
Repeat infective endocarditis due to the same species can represent relapse of the initial infection or a new infection. We used time-based clinical criteria and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis-based molecular criteria to classify 13 cases of repeat infective endocarditis as either relapse or reinfection. The agreement between clinical and molecular criteria was imperfect (agreement in 10 [77%] of 13 cases).
Chu
Vivian H
VH
Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. chu00009@mc.duke.edu
Sexton
Daniel J
DJ
Cabell
Christopher H
CH
Reller
L Barth
LB
Pappas
Paul A
PA
Singh
Rakesh K
RK
Fowler
Vance G
VG
Corey
G Ralph
GR
Aksoy
Olcay
O
Woods
Christopher W
CW
D004697:Endocarditis, Bacterial / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013293:Enterococcus faecalis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D011425:Propionibacterium acnes / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012008:Recurrence; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013212:Staphylococcus epidermidis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013298:Streptococcus sanguis / Q000302:isolation & purification