Bacterial endocarditis: a retrospective study.

A retrospective study was done on patients admitted to the University of Michigan Hospital from 1962 to 1972 with a diagnosis of bacterial endocarditis. The findings in the group studied indicate that Streptococcus viridans was the predominant causative organism, males were affected three times as often as females, erythromycin was effective against organisms of oral origin, dental procedures were not definitely established as responsible for the onset of the disease in any of the cases, and rheumatic heart disease and congenital heart disease were the predominant, but not the only, predisposing factors.