Infective endocarditis an African experience

Abstract

A two-year review of I02 consecutive cases of infective endocarditis is presented from Uganda. Fifty-seven patients were diagnosed at clinical presentation and 45 were diagnosed only at necropsy. The majority of patients clinically presenting with infective endocarditis had underlying rheumatic heart disease, with staphylococci and streptococci the commonest infecting organisms. On adequate antibiotic therapy the mortality was I9 per cent. The majority of those diagnosed at necropsy presented an acute course with rapid termination in cardiac failure, frequently due to acute valvular destruction in the absence of pre-existing valvular disease. These experiences in a developing country are different from the spectrum of infective endocarditis as seen at present in western countries.