Bacterial endocarditis is a dangerous and often life-threatening infectious ailment that must be diagnosed and treated immediately. If left untreated, it will destroy heart valves and other cardiac tissue and potentially lead to heart failure and death. Because of its potential gravity, it is a well-known entity to all physicians, dentists, and nurses. Bacterial endocarditis can impact virtually any organ of the body, so all these healthcare providers must be keenly aware of its multiorgan consequences and varied presentations. Mildly invasive procedures such as dental work and urologic procedures can precipitate bacterial endocarditis. As such, all physicians are aware of the need to obtain a history that includes such recent procedures (e.g., dental work, cystoscopy) as they are often the key to diagnosing bacterial endocarditis.
Bacterial endocarditis can be insidious and subtle. These characteristics along with its devastating consequences if overlooked, mandate a very high index of suspicion by medical professionals confronted with a challenging patient who simply remains ill from a presumed infectious diagnosis that fails to respond as expected to antibiotic.
Bacterial endocarditis medical expert witness specialties include cardiology, infectious diseases, and cardiac surgery.