Infective Endocarditis in Children Hospitalized During 10 Years in Imam Reza Hospital- Mashhad

Introduction: Infective endocarditis is a rare, fatal ,with high morbidity in children, Since infective endocarditis in children was not assessed in our conditions so our study was attempted.   Material and Methods: This cross-sectional  study  include 19 patients less than 18 years old  with endocarditis   were hospitalized in the Department of Pediatric Cardiology( University of Mashhad Medical Sciences) between 1381 to1391.Clinical symptoms, risk factors, underlying  heart disease,laboratory- echocardiogeraphic results were studied. Finally   using SPSS 16 software data were  analyzed.   Results: Variety of infections were seen in 21.1%. Staphylococcus aurous was the most common crime in 21% of microbial cultures. coagulase-negative staphylococci, Staphylococcus epidermidis and gram-negative cocci were seen in only one patient each .Umbilical /vein catheter were as a risk factor in 10.6% of children. The most common underlying factor was congenital heart disease (CHD)(47.7%). Surgery were performed in  7(36.8%) patients due to CHD before endocarditis .Vegetation were  resected in 2 (10.5%)children  as a treatment after endocarditis .There was no significant difference between time of surgery and microbial crime .(p-value= 0.069).18 children(94.7%) had cardiac vegetation.   Conclusion:  Due to the often negative cultures in our conditions, strong clinical suspicion of underlying causes, especially in children with congenital heart disease can be very important in  reducing mortality and complications.   Key words: Children, Congenital Heart Disease, Infective Endocarditis.