| [ Summary ] |
Infective endocarditis (IE) is more frequently found in hemodialysis (HD) patients compared to the general population. More than half of the cases are caused by Staphylococcus aureus infection. Vascular access (internal AV fistula, AV vascular grafts or temporally catheters) infections are considered as sites of causative organism invasion. Patients' survival rates are quite poor, with approximately 30 to 65 % mortality. HD patients with prosthetic valves, congenital heart disease, a history of having IE, valvular heart disease, hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy or pacemaker implantation should be prevented from contracting IE by using antibiotics when oral, dental, airway or genitourinary procedures are performed. In addition, HD patients have peculiar valvular lesions, such as mitral annular calcification (MAC) or aortic valve calcification (AVC). A connection between the presence of these lesions and the occurrence of IE has not been confirmed, however, we recommend the administration of antibiotics to prevent IE when performing various medical procedures. |