Clinical Characteristics of IE Patients
Of the 10 patients with possible or definite endocarditis,
9 patients had hospital-acquired infection,
and 8 patients had infections due to methicillin-sensitive
S aureus. The presumed source of bacteremia
was an intravascular catheter in 7 patients (70%). No
association was found between the white blood cell
count or temperature and risk for IE. Three patients
were premature, and 9 had congenital heart disease.
Of these 9 patients, 5 were diagnosed with IE within
2 weeks of surgical intervention for their congenital
heart disease.
All 6 patients with definite IE met 2 major criteria
as defined in Table 2. Each patient had serologic
evidence of SAB and echocardiographic evidence of
valvular vegetations. The 4 patients with possible IE
met 1 major criterion (serologic evidence of SAB) and
1 minor criterion (preexisting heart disease).