Infective endocarditis prophylaxis.

Antibiotic prophylaxis for infective endocarditis continues to be administered empirically, although its indications are ever more restrictive. Some expert committees have even suggested that antibiotic prophylaxis is unnecessary, rekindling the controversy between those who defend the scientific evidence and those working in clinical practice; in any case, this proposal will facilitate the undertaking of prospective placebo-controlled trials, so necessary to resolve this issue. In the meantime, the most prudent approach is to adopt the recommendations proposed by the expert committees in each country.