Infective endocarditis: therapeutic options and indications for surgery.

Infective endocarditis is a serious, life-threatening condition with mortality of 30% at one year. Established treatment is a combination of anti-microbial therapy and close interface between multiple specialist teams of cardiologists, microbiologists and cardiac surgeons to ensure availability of early surgery to those patients who require it. There are evidence-based established indications for surgery and a shifting body of evidence advocating earlier surgical intervention. The development of complications is often the driving cause of referral for surgical intervention. Here we discuss the management of infective endocarditis, considering both antimicrobial therapy and indications for surgery to treat this debilitating disease.