[Bacterial endocarditis in congenital heart diseases]

Abstract

The following observations were made on a series of 15 cases of bacterial endocarditis on congenital cardiac lesions admitted between 1971 and 1980, in 13 patients aged 6 to 48 years old (average 21 yrs old): --The low but constant incidence of endocarditis--The majority of causal lesions were ventricular septal defects of Fallot's tetralogy--The portal of entry diagnosed in 2/3 of cases was usually dental--The causal organism was a streptococcus in 80% of cases--The long period of pyrexia before, the diagnosis of endocarditis was made--M mode, and above all, 2D echo detected vegetations in half the cases where it was performed--The gravity of the immediate prognosis due to a 25% mortality and a high incidence of complications--Early complications present in 2/3 of cases were dominated by true "oslerian" lesions, cardiac failure, cerebral complications, pulmonary embolism and early relapse. --The relatively good secondary prognosis.