The changing profile of bacterial endocarditis as seen at an australian provincial centre.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The clinical profile of endocarditis has changed over the past four decades with studies showing trends towards increasing age, more nosocomial and prosthetic valve infection and increasing rates of Staphylococcus aureus infection. However, these studies have been biased by referral patterns. METHODS: We reviewed data collected at three hospitals in the Barwon-South-West region in Victoria, Australia. All cases identified between 1994 and 1999 were reviewed according to the Duke criteria. RESULTS: During this period, 58 patients were diagnosed as having endocarditis. The incidence rate during this time was 3.0 per 100 000 with a rise in the rate of admissions from 0.15 to 0.26 pe..