[Infectious endocarditis: problems of diagnosis and nomenclature]

Altogether 240 patients with infectious endocarditis (IE) were examined. The problems of IE diagnosis, particularly the reasons for late and initially erroneous disease diagnosis are discussed on the basis of the authors' own and reported data. The differential-diagnostic table containing the criteria of differential diagnosis of IE, rheumatic fever, systemic lupus erythematosus, lymphogranulomatosis is presented.