[Infective endocarditis. Systematic review of twenty years of performances in the Sociedad Argentina de Medicina].

UNLABELLED: Infective endocarditis (IE) is still a disease with high morbidity and mortality. Its diagnosis and treatment are still a major challenge in clinical practice. There have been very few studies published about IE in Argentina.

METHODS: We reviewed all the studies about IE published in the Argentine Medicine Society from 1980 to 2003 and we analyzed demographic, clinical and bacteriological data.

RESULTS: 27 studies with 628 patients were included. Mean age of patients was 50.7 years old. The most frequent clinical data were fever, murmur and elevated sedimentation rate. Stafilococcus spp was the most common causative organism, followed by streptococcus spp. The echocardiographic demonstration allowed the definitive diagnosis in 2/3 of the patients.

CONCLUSION: The IE data of Argentina are not different from other data published in different countries and this study shows some clinical features of IE in Argentina.