[Neonatal endocarditis: report of a case]

Neonatal endocarditis (NE) is a rare and usually fatal disease. The diagnosis is difficult because the criteria that have been suggested and used in adults are not readily applicable to neonates. The cause of the neonatal endocarditis can be bacterial (BE) or nobacterial (NBE). The main risk factors predisposing to NE are: congenital heart disease, the use of central venous catheters and severe asphixia. The signs and the symptoms of NE are nonspecific and cannot be distinguished from those of sepsis or congenital heart disease (CHD). In the present paper we report on a case sheltered in our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).