Infective endocarditis prophylaxis in patients undergoing oral surgery

Abstract

Infective endocarditis (IE), an infection of the endocardium that usually involves the valves and adjacent structures, may be caused by a wide variety of bacteria and fungi that entered the bloodstream and settled in the heart lining, a heart valve or a blood vessel. The IE is uncommon, but people with some heart conditions have a greater risk of developing it. Despite advances in medical, surgical, and critical care interventions, the IE remains a disease that is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. Hence, in order to minimize the risk of adverse outcome and achieve a yet better management of complications, it is crucial to increase the awareness of all the prophylactic measures of the IE. For the past 50 years, the guidelines for the IE prophylaxis have been under constant changes. The purpose of this paper is to review current dental and medical literature considering the IE prophylaxis, including the new and updated guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA, 2007 and 2015), the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE, 2015), the European Society of Cardiology (ESC, 2009 and 2015) and the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC, 2006).