Bacteriological studies in infective endocarditis and predisposing factors

ABSTRACT

The results of blood cultures from 60 patients under going cardiac operations show 25% incidence of bacteraemia. Bacteraemia was higher in open cardiac surgery than in closed ones. Staphylococcus epidermis was the commonest organism gaining access to the blood streams during surgical operations on the heart. Bacteraemia due to tooth extraction, urological procedures and sigmoidoscopy was studied. The incidence of positive blood culture in 33 patients with infective endocarditis was 60.6%. This relatively decreased incidence of positive blood culture is due to the common use of antibiotics empirically in Egypt. Gram negative bacilli were the commonest organisms isolated in infective endocarditis [PVE]. Organisms previously considered non pathogenic are the cause of nearly 30% of positive blood culture in IE