JAC Advance Access published online on December 19, 2003
Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, doi:10.1093/jac/dkh034
© 2003 by The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
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Leading article
1 Northern Ireland Public Health Laboratory, Department of
Bacteriology, Belfast City Hospital, Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7AD,
Northern Ireland, UK
* Corresponding author. E-mail: jemoore{at}niphl.dnet.co.uk.
Infective endocarditis (IE) is associated with a high
degree of morbidity and mortality and generally presents in patients
with altered and abnormal heart architecture combined with exposure
to bacteria through trauma and other potentially high-risk activities,
including body piercing. Modern social behaviour has resulted in increased
popularity of the practice of body piercing, particularly amongst
the adolescent population and there has been a marked rise of cases
of IE directly attributable to this practice. In this article we
wish to examine the aetiology of such cases reported in the literature,
with particular emphasis on causal organism, as well as to discuss
the role of antibiotic prophylaxis and awareness in such at-risk
patients within the primary care community.
Keywords: endocarditis, body piercing, tattoos, antibiotic
prophylaxis, guidelines
Antibiotic prophylaxis, body piercing and infective
endocarditis
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Endorsed by the European Society of Clinical Micro, Authors/Task Force Members, G. Habib, B. Hoen, P. Tornos, F. Thuny, B. Prendergast, I. Vilacosta, P. Moreillon, M. de Jesus Antunes, et al. Guidelines on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infective endocarditis (new version 2009): The Task Force on the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Infective Endocarditis of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Eur. Heart J., October 1, 2009; 30(19): 2369 - 2413. [Full Text] [PDF] |
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S. Hill Comment on: Antibiotic prophylaxis, body piercing and infective endocarditis J. Antimicrob. Chemother., July 1, 2004; 54(1): 278 - 278. [Full Text] [PDF] |
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