Can endocarditis be prevented?
Endocarditis is much more likely to result from frequent exposure to random bacteremias associated with daily activities than from bacteremia caused by a dental, gastrointestinal (GI) tract, or genitourinary (GU) tract procedure. Prophylaxis may prevent an exceedingly small number of cases of endocarditis, if any, in individuals who undergo a dental, GI tract, or GU tract procedure. The risk of antibiotic-associated adverse events exceeds the benefit, if any, from prophylactic antibiotic therapy. Maintenance of optimal oral health and hygiene may reduce the incidence of bacteremia from daily activities and is more important than prophylactic antibiotics for a dental procedure to reduce the risk of endocarditis. Not all cases of endocarditis can be prevented, because we don’t always know when a bacteremia occurs. In past years, the American Heart Association has recommended that patients at increased risk for endocarditis take prophylactic antibiotics before certain dental, GI and GU pr
