Infective Endocarditis Antibiotic Prophylaxis: Review of the Evidence and Guidelines

Research output: Contribution to journalReviewResearchpeer-review

Purpose of Review: The question of antibiotic prophylaxis and its role in prevention of infective endocarditis (IE) remains controversial, with differing recommendations from international societies. The aim of this review was to compare and contrast current recommendations on antibiotic prophylaxis for IE by the American Heart Association (AHA), the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and highlight the evidence supporting these recommendations. Recent Findings: International guidelines for administration of antibiotic prophylaxis for prevention of IE are largely unchanged since 2009. Studies on the impact of the more restrictive antibiotic prophylaxis recommendations are conflicting, with several studies suggesting lack of adherence to current guidance from the ESC (2015), NICE (2016), and AHA (2021). Summary: The question of antibiotic prophylaxis in patients with IE remains controversial, with differing recommendations from international societies. Despite the change in guidelines more than 15 years ago, lack of adherence to current guidelines persists. Due to the lack of high-quality evidence and the conflicting results from observational studies along with the lack of randomized clinical trials, the question of whether to recommend antibiotic prophylaxis or not in certain patient populations remains unanswered and remains largely based on expert consensus opinion.

Original languageEnglish
JournalCurrent Cardiology Reports
Volume25
Issue number12
Pages (from-to)1873-1881
Number of pages9
ISSN1523-3782
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

    Research areas

  • Antibiotic prophylaxis, Infective endocarditis

ID: 382384902