Prevention of bacterial endocarditis: current practice in The Netherlands. Netherlands Heart Foundation.

Abstract

A working party of the Netherlands Heart Foundation has formulated guidelines which are simple and uniform in order to encourage maximum compliance. They have been widely publicised among medical and dental practitioners as well as patients. Cardiac conditions requiring or not requiring prophylaxis have been identified. Specific regimens for dental procedures, genito-urinary and gastrointestinal procedures, and drainage of infected tissue have been recommended. A case-control study revealed that compliance with recommendations was low even though patients were aware of the need. While prophylaxis may be worthwhile for the individual, it is concluded that even strict adherence will do little to decrease the incidence of endocarditis in the Netherlands.