Early echocardiographic manifestations of primary chronic septic endocarditis.

Echocardiographic manifestations of the early stages of primary chronic septic endocarditis are studied in patients with mono-, bi-, and multivalvular valvulitis. The basic morphological substrate of the disease is fibrosis; the main trend is progressive fibrosis of valvular and extravalvular endocardial structures leading in many cases to stenosis of the valvular orifices. The results in some cases do not permit us to regard fibrosis as a result of previous "healed" endocarditis ruling out the presence of an inflammatory process. The basic morphological substrate of the disease corresponds to primary chronic inflammation, intrinsic to this condition. The data on the early manifestations of infectious endocarditis supplement the notions on echocardiographic manifestations this condition.