Infective endocarditis: a current review.

Infective endocarditis is a dynamic disease for which various infective organisms may be responsible in different patient populations. Antimicrobial therapy should be directed against the specific organism after it has been identified by blood culture. An agent with a spectrum that includes the enterococci should be given in the meantime. Prophylactic use of a bactericidal agent is necessary for patients with valvular or congenital heart disease. Recent advances in microbiologic and cardiac diagnostic procedures offer the clinician various methods of following the activity of the disease, and immunobiology has provided new insights into its pathogenesis.