title: Infective Endocarditis in Adults: Diagnosis, Antimicrobial Therapy, and Management of Complications: A Scientific Statement for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Infective endocarditis is a potentially lethal disease that has undergone major changes in both host and pathogen. The epidemiology of infective endocarditis has become more complex with today's myriad healthcare-associated factors that predispose to infection. Moreover, changes in pathogen prevalence, in particular a more common staphylococcal origin, have affected outcomes, which have not improved despite medical and surgical advances.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This statement updates the 2005 iteration, both of which were developed by the American Heart Association under the auspices of the Committee on Rheumatic Fever, Endocarditis, and Kawasaki Disease, Council on Cardiovascular Disease of the Young. It includes an evidence-based system for diagnostic and treatment recommendations used by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association for treatment recommendations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Infective endocarditis is a complex disease, and patients with this disease generally require management by a team of physicians and allied health providers with a variety of areas of expertise. The recommendations provided in this document are intended to assist in the management of this uncommon but potentially deadly infection. The clinical variability and complexity in infective endocarditis, however, dictate that these recommendations be used to support and not supplant decisions in individual patient management.
authors.forename: Larry M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Baddour
authors.forename: Walter R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Arnold S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Bayer
authors.forename: Vance G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Fowler
authors.forename: Imad M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Tleyjeh
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Rybak
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Barsic
authors.forename: Peter B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Lockhart
authors.forename: Michael H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Gewitz
authors.forename: Matthew E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Levison
authors.forename: Ann F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Bolger
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Steckelberg
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Baltimore
authors.forename: Anne M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Fink
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: O'Gara
authors.forename: Kathryn A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Taubert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D003935:Diagnostic Techniques, Cardiovascular / Q000592:standards; D004696:Endocarditis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D016459:Prosthesis-Related Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy; D012214:Rheumatic Heart Disease / Q000150:complications; D012307:Risk Factors; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D000925:Anticoagulants
keywords: AHA Scientific Statements; anti-infective agents; echocardiography; endocarditis; infection