Recommendations for the practice of echocardiography in infective endocarditis.
Echocardiography plays a key role in the assessment of infective endocarditis (IE). It is useful for the diagnosis of endocarditis, the assessment of the severity of the disease, the prediction of short- and long-term prognosis, the prediction of embolic events, and the follow-up of patients under specific antibiotic therapy. Echocardiography is also useful for the diagnosis and management of the complications of IE, helping the physician in decision-making, particularly when a surgical therapy is considered. Finally, intraoperative echocardiography must be performed in IE to help the surgeon in the assessment and management of patients with IE during surgery. The current 'recommendations for the practice of echocardiography in infective endocarditis' aims to provide both an updated summary concerning the value and limitations of echocardiography in IE, and clear and simple recommendations for the optimal use of both transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography in IE.
Habib
Gilbert
G
Service de Cardiologie, CHU La Timone, Boulevard Jean Moulin, Marseille, France. gilbert.habib@free.fr
Badano
Luigi
L
Tribouilloy
Christophe
C
Vilacosta
Isidre
I
Zamorano
Jose Luis
JL
Galderisi
Maurizio
M
Voigt
Jens-Uwe
JU
Sicari
Rosa
R
Cosyns
Bernard
B
Fox
Kevin
K
Aakhus
Svend
S
D004452:Echocardiography; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D004696:Endocarditis / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013923:Thromboembolism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging