European heart journal
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European heart journal · Apr 1992
Clinical relevance of vegetation localization by transoesophageal echocardiography in infective endocarditis.
Infective endocarditis is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, with valvular destruction and congestive heart failure being more common in patients with echocardiographically discernible vegetations. The transoesophageal approach affords consistently high quality images with excellent structural resolution. Two-hundred and eighty-one patients with clinically suspected infective endocarditis were studied, to evaluate the prognostic value of ascertaining the site of vegetations. ⋯ Our data suggest that the site influences both the rate and the type of complications. Precise echocardiographic visualization of vegetations helps to stratify patients into a high-risk sub-group, perhaps warranting early prophylactic surgical intervention. Transoesophageal echocardiography may play an important role in assessing the clinical outcome for these patients.