Bacterial endocarditis in children under 2 years of age
D. H. Johnson, A. Rosenthal and A. S. Nadas
The risk of bacterial endocarditis in infants with bacterial sepsis was
assessed by review of clinical and autopsy records (1930 to 1972). There
were 12 cases of bacterial endocarditis among 847 patients (1.4%) dying
with bacterial sepis; a single survivor was noted during the entire period.
Of the 12 autopsy patients, six had underlying congenital heart disease
(CHD). Among 61 patients with bacterial sepsis associated with CHD, six
acquired bacterial endocarditis (10%), whereas in 786 infants with sepsis
but without underlying heart disease, only six developed bacterial
endocarditis (0.8%) (P less than .01). There is a high mortality in infants
with bacterial endocarditis, and an increased risk of it in infants with
sepsis and CHD.
