Clinical Features of Staphylococcus aureus Endocarditis

Abstract

INFECTIVE ENDOCARDITIS is a constantly evolving disease. During the last decades, several important aspects of the disease have changed. The patients are older, and the spectrum of predisposing heart conditions has shifted; ie, fewer patients have underlying rheumatic valve disease, but more patients now have prosthetic valves.^1-6 It also appears that the incidence of Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis is increasing.^3,5-7 Both morbidity and mortality from S aureus endocarditis continue to be high, which to a certain extent reflects the difficulty in diagnosing the disease clinically. Espersen and Frimodt-Møller⁸ previously reported the clinical characteristics of patients with S aureus endocarditis over a 6-year period (1976-1981), and since then, only a few studies involving large series of patients with this disease have been published.