[Community-acquired Bacteremia: when should endocarditis be suspected?]

This article examines the risk of infective endocarditis (IE) linked to various bacterial species causing bacteremia. While the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines do not specify the diagnostic workup to perform based on bacterial species, certain bacteria are acknowledged to pose a higher IE risk. Community-acquired bacteremia has a higher IE risk than nosocomial bacteremia. Implantable electronic cardiovascular devices (IECD) and a history of IE or valve surgery also increase this risk. Several risk stratification systems (RSS) have been developed to guide clinicians on the necessity of echocardiography in patients with Gram-positive bacteremia, particularly S. aureus, streptococci, and enterococci. An evaluation algorithm based on these RSS is proposed to assist clinical investigations.