THE ROLE OF 2-DIMENSIONAL ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF INEFFECTIVE ENDOCARDITIS

Two-dimensional echocardiography has had a significant impact on and is considered the technique of choice for the diagnosis and management of infective endocarditis. Over a thirty-six month period, 106 patients were evaluated by echocardiography for the possibility of endocarditis. The diagnosis of endocarditis was determined by strict clinical and laboratory criteria. All clinical histories, blood cultures, echocardiograms, and autopsy results were reviewed. Five echocardiograms were technically inadequate, resulting in a study population of 101 patients. The age of the patients ranged from forty-five days to eighty-eight years (mean fifty-seven years). The clinical manifestations of endocarditis included fever (83%), chills (60%), congestive heart failure (25%), and splenomegaly (18%). Twelve patients had preexisting valvular or congenital heart disease. Gram-positive cocci were the most common microorganisms. Complications included mitral regurgitation, subarachnoid hemorrhage, renal infarction, stroke, and a pulmonary embolus. The patients were divided into two groups: Group I consisted of 36 patients with definite vegetations by echocardiography, and Group II had 65 patients with no vegetations. In Group I, acute infective endocarditis was present in 35 patients, whereas only 4 patients had endocarditis in Group II. The sensitivity of two-dimensional echocardiography for detecting endocarditis was 90%. The specificity was 98%. The predictive accuracy for a positive test was 97%, and the predictive accuracy for a negative test was 94%. Thus, two-dimensional echocardiography appears to have a high sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value in the evaluation of patients with suspected endocarditis.