• Home

Home > Medical Reference > Encyclopedia (English)

Toggle: English / Spanish

Culture-negative endocarditis

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Treatment
• Prevention

Alternative Names:

Endocarditis (culture-negative)

Prevention:

Patients with mitral valve prolapse, valve prostheses, previous endocarditis, congenital heart diseases, and intravenous use of illegal drugs are at increased risk for endocarditis. Patients at known increased risk for endocarditis should consult their primary physician about the need to receive antibiotics prior to dental or genitourinary procedures (antibiotic prophylaxis).

Intravenous drug users should seek treatment for addiction. If that is not possible, use sterile syringes and clean the injection site before every injection to avoid blood infections leading to endocarditis.

For all patients at risk for endocarditis, maintenance of meticulous dental hygiene is of equal importance to antibiotic prophylaxis in the prevention of endocarditis.

• Review Date: 5/26/2006
• Reviewed By: Monica Gandhi MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, UCSF, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is the first of its kind, requiring compliance with 53 standards of quality and accountability, verified by independent audit. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial process . A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics (www.hiethics.com) and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 1997-2007 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.