Use of echocardiography in patients with known or suspected infective endocarditis

Stamatios Lerakis, Jonathan R. Lindner, George A. Stouffer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Ultrasonographic examination enables the detection of vegetations, valvular regurgitation, intramyocardial abscesses, and subaortic complications in patients with suspected endocarditis, but the role echocardiography should play in the diagnosis and management of patients with suspected IE is still somewhat unclear. Echocardiography is useful when the clinical suspicion of IE is intermediate or high but of little value in individuals in whom the suspicion is low. In patients with known endocarditis, echocardiography may provide information important to optimal management. TEE is generally superior to TTE, especially in patients with prosthetic valves, in the detection of abscess formation, and in those patients in whom TTE is either inadequate or indicates an intermediate probability of endocarditis. Despite recent advances in our understanding of the role echocardiography should play in patients with known or suspected IE, there remain many unanswered questions and it should be emphasized that echocardiographic data must be interpreted in conjunction with clinical information.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)209-212
Number of pages4
JournalAmerican Journal of the Medical Sciences
Volume316
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1998
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Use of echocardiography in patients with known or suspected infective endocarditis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this