Compliance with guidelines for management of dental school patients susceptible to infective endocarditis.

The purpose of the investigation was to determine the extent to which the 1984 American Heart Association prophylaxis guidelines were adopted in a sample of dental school patients and to determine whether implementation strategies resulted in change in the management of patients at risk for infective endocarditis (IE). Dental records of 330 patients requiring medical consultation on the basis of a heart problem identified in the medical history questionnaire were reviewed. One hundred fifty-four patients required IE prophylaxis according to their physicians. Only 11 percent of IE-susceptible patient charts showed documentation of correct prophylaxis for every appointment at which a bacteremia was possible. Only 35 percent of patients receiving prophylaxis after December 1984 were covered according to the new American Heart Association guidelines.