title: [Associated factors to increased sensitivity in the transthoracic echocardiogram for the diagnosis of infective endocarditis].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Echocardiography is considered a basic tool in the diagnosis and management of infective endocarditis. Transesophageal echocardiography is more sensitive than transthoracic echocardiography. Our aim was to describe which factors are related to the ability of transthoracic echocardiography to establish the diagnosis of infective endocarditis. The presence of this factors in a patient with a normal transthoracic echocardiography would make unnecessary to perform a transesophageal echocardiography and would suggest to seek for other diagnostic possibilities.
  
  
  METHODS
  127 consecutive patients admitted to our hospital with the diagnosis of infective endocarditis and a complete transthoracic echocardiography and transesophageal echocardiography comprised our study group. Predisposing factors and clinical, echocardiographic and microbiological variables were studied.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The presence of a cardiac murmur, the presence of an optimal acoustic window, degenerative valvular disease as the predisposing factor for infective endocarditis and positive blood cultures were related to the ability of transthoracic echocardiography to diagnose the existence of signs of infective endocarditis on its own. Nevertheless, only the presence of a cardiac murmur (RR 2.724; 95% CI 1.071-6.926; p 0,035) and the presence of an optimal acoustic window (RR 5.538; 95% IC 2.75-11.15; p < 0.001) were found as independent factors to detect those patients in which transthoracic echocardiography is able to diagnose signs of infective endocarditis on its own.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The diagnostic accuracy of transthoracic echocardiography to detect echocardiographic signs of infective endocarditis is high in those patients with cardiac murmur and optimal acoustic window. In those patients with these characteristics, without prosthetic heart valves and a negative transthoracic echocardiography for infective endocarditis other diagnostic possibilities should be ruled out before performing of a transesophageal echocardiography.
authors: Unidad de Ecocardiografia. Instituto Cardiovascular, Hospital Clinico San Carlos, Madrid.
authors: Lorenzo
authors: L
authors: Hernando
authors: José Luis
authors: JL
authors: Zamorano
authors: Leopoldo
authors: L
authors: Pérez de Isla
authors: Carlos
authors: C
authors: Almería
authors: José Luis
authors: JL
authors: Rodrigo
authors: Ada Lia
authors: AL
authors: Aubele
authors: Luis
authors: L
authors: Mataix
authors: Dionisio
authors: D
authors: Herrera
authors: Carlos
authors: C
authors: Macaya
mesh_terms: D004697:Endocarditis, Bacterial / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014463:Ultrasonography