Infective endocarditis: diagnostic and therapeutic approach in emergency medicine

The infective endocarditis is an uncommon disease in the Emergency Department. Anyway, the emergency physician may be in front of the complications of this disease. A case of a patient with fever, laboratory signs of infection and an acute heart failure is described in this article. The final diagnosis was infective endocarditis with vegetations on the aortic valve and severe valvular regurgitation. The definition of infective endocarditis according to the major and minor criteria for the diagnosis is discussed. The echocardiography is central in the diagnosis and management of patients with infective endocarditis in the emergency setting, even if the clinical suspicion is very important. The main available therapeutic options in according to the Internation Guidelines are evaluated. The possible complications are also discussed. Several clinical and echocardiographic features identify patients at high risk for a complicated course or with a need for surgery.