[Rheumatic masking of bacterial endocarditis]

In 36 patients with bacterial endocarditis (BE) rheumatic symptoms were detected in 61.1%. Arthralgias and arthritides having some distinctive features typical of this disease, myalgia, rheumatoid factor and LE cells (less frequently) were observed in the overwhelming majority of the patients. The authors described 3 cases where rheumatic symptoms obscured a clinical picture of BE for a long time resulting in late diagnosis and inadequate therapy.