Outcomes Following Medical or Surgical Management of Endocarditis

Infective endocarditis is a rare disease, and while there have been several large reviews of the incidence of endocarditis in the pediatric patient population, relatively little has been published regarding the short and medium-term outcomes following medical and surgical therapy for this disease. The goal is to compare the outcome for children treated for endocarditis with either medical management or surgery by looking at the success of these two treatment strategies. Another goal is to attempt to identify risk factors for medical management that might identify patients who would be better served by early surgery.