[Infectious endocarditis of the right heart. Apropos of 10 cases]

Ten cases of right-sided infective endocarditis (IE) were recorded in a retrospective study over a 5 year period (1984-88). In 8 cases, IE complicated known congenital heart disease. One patient was followed up for rhumatic valvular disease and in the remaining case, IE seemed to have occurred on a normal valve. The inclusion criteria were based on the clinical signs: prolonged pyrexia, the finding of a new murmur or a change on cardiac auscultation, and eventually, the occurrence of a complication (7 cases). The commonest complications were right ventricular failure and pulmonary embolism. A portal of entry was found in 5 cases: dental infection in 3 cases, osteomyelitis in 1 case and an abscess on the right leg in 1 case. Blood cultures were positive in 5 cases and grew a staphylococcus aureus on each occasion. Two-dimensional echocardiography showed vegetations in 9 cases. The short-term outcome was satisfactory. There were no fatalities and 5 patients underwent surgery.