[Tricuspid endocarditis. Value of echocardiography. Developmental data. Apropos of 11 cases]

Clinical and echocardiographic data of 11 patients with tricuspid valve endocarditis (TE) were analysed to determine diagnostic criteria and to study the outcome of this condition. The study population comprised 6 men and 5 women (average age 38.4 +/- 18 years). TE was the only lesion in 9 cases; there was 1 case of associated pulmonary and aortic valve endocarditis, and in the other patient mitral and aortic valve endocarditis was also present. Five patients were heroin addicts. In 5 cases, the causative organism was Staphylococcus aureus. The clinical presentation was usually atypical with a systolic murmur rarely characteristic in 9 patients and signs of right ventricular failure in only 3 patients. On the other hand, 8 patients had one or more episodes of acute pneumonia or typical pulmonary embolism. The diagnosis was established by echocardiography which demonstrated the valvular vegetations. The outcome was favourable in 10 patients, only one of whom required surgical intervention. Two dimensional echocardiography provided valuable information about the evolution of the valvular vegetations, frequently showing regression after medical therapy.