| Summary: | A retrospective analysis of the medical histories of 24 patients suffering from infective endocarditis from January 1995 to December 1997 was made, with a view to finding out the characteristics of this group of patients. Half of the patients had permanent pacemakers and one third were carriers of native valve cardiopathies. Access route for the disease was detected in 45.8 % of them whereas pacemaker pocket sepsis was the origin of the infection in almost two-thirds of them. Microorganisms causing the sepsis were determined in 79.2 % of cases and the most commom were positive staphylococcus coagulase, negative staphylococcus coagulase and streptococcus viridans. 14 patients were treated with surgical therapy and 2 with medical treatment. Eight patients died from heart septic complications. We concluded that a strict antibiotic prophylaxis should be followed in patients having heart valve protheses or permanent pacemakers in the face of any surgical intervention because of the risks posed by infective endocarditis.
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