Assesment of the Duke criteria for the diagnosis of infective endocarditis after twenty-years. An analysis of 241 cases

Abstract

Twenty-years after their launch, the Duke criteria for the diagnosis of IE continue to be important tools. Low index of suspicion of IE and inappropriate use of antibiotics may have a great negative impact on the diagnosis of IE. Nowadays, the scarcity of classical Osler manifestations - bacteremia, fever and peripheral stigmata - makes the diagnosis of IE a challenge.