Role of echocardiography in the diagnosis and management of infective endocarditis.

Infective endocarditis is one of the most common causes of serious infection and carries a high risk of morbidity and mortality. It represents the fourth leading cause of life-threatening infections after urosepsis, pneumonia, and intra-abdominal sepsis. There is still a continuous rise in the incidence of infective endocarditis, with a rate of about 20,000 new cases in the United States alone. This rise in incidence of infective endocarditis is mainly caused by increasing numbers of intravenous drug abusers, patients with artificial valves and elderly patients. In this paper, we will briefly review the crucial role of echocardiography in the diagnosis and management of infective endocarditis.