[Clinical manifestations of infective endocarditis]

Abstract

Infective endocarditis has a broad clinical picture, with systemic and multiorgan impairment. The organs most frequently involved are the heart, the central nervous system and the kidneys. Complications are caused by several mechanisms: direct effect on the heart, septic embolisms and immunological phenomena. We review some of the main clinical aspects of this disease, as well as the results of a wide series of patients with infective endocarditis from our hospital.