Prevent Infective Endocarditis
By Sandra Castellanos, AAS, RDH, BS, MA, CHES
Infective endocarditis is a rare but life-threatening infection of the endocardium that affects the heart valves and neighboring structures. It is caused by a variety of bacteria and fungi. While the oral cavity harbors more than 700 strains of bacteria, only a small number are associated with infective endocarditis, including Staphylococci and Viridans streptococci as well as Enterococcus, Pseudomonas, and Serratia species. The fungus Candida is another cause.1–3 The incidence of infective endocarditis ranges from five cases to seven cases per 100,000 people each year. Women are more likely to develop infective endocarditis than men.4 Post-surgical infections of prosthetic joints are also rare, but the mechanisms for infection appear similar to infective endocarditis.
* References can be found in the original article via the link below.
Read Article
Responses