AS and endocarditis prophylaxis

Q: All patients with critical Aortic Stenosis should receive endocarditis prophylaxis?

A) True
B) False


Answer: B

Unfortunately, very few cases of infective endocarditis (IE) can be prevented by antibiotic prophylaxis. New guidelines recommend antibiotic prophylaxis only for patients with underlying cardiac conditions associated with the highest risk. High-risk cardiac conditions are defined as prosthetic valves, congenital heart disease (CHD), history of infective endocarditis and heart transplant patients with valvular disease.

#cardiology
#infectiousdiseases


References:

1. Bonow RO, Carabello BA, Chatterjee K, et al. 2008 Focused update incorporated into the ACC/AHA 2006 guidelines for the management of patients with valvular heart disease: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Writing Committee to Revise the 1998 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Valvular Heart Disease): endorsed by the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, and Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Circulation 2008; 118:e523.

2. Wilson W, Taubert KA, Gewitz M, Lockhart PB, Baddour LM, Levison M, et al. Prevention of infective endocarditis: guidelines from the American Heart Association: a guideline from the American Heart Association Rheumatic Fever, Endocarditis, and Kawasaki Disease Committee, Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young, and the Council on Clinical Cardiology, Council on Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia, and the Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Interdisciplinary Working Group. Circulation. 2007 Oct 9. 116(15):1736-54.