The 2023 new European guidelines on infective endocarditis: main novelties and implications for clinical practice

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Abstract
The 2023 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines for the management of infective endocarditis update the previous 2015 guidelines with main novelties in five areas: (1) antibiotic prevention for high-risk patients, and prevention measures for intermediate-risk and high-risk patients; (2) diagnosis with emphasis on multimodality imaging to assess cardiac lesions of infective endocarditis’ (3) antibiotic therapy allowing an outpatient antibiotic treatment for stabilized, uncomplicated cases; (4) cardiac surgery with an emphasis on early intervention without delay for complicated cases; and (5) shared management decision by the endocarditis team. Most evidence came from observational studies and expert opinions. The guidelines strongly support a patient-centred approach with a shared decision process by a multidisciplinary team that should be implemented either in tertiary referral centres, becoming heart valve centres, and referral centres. A continuous sharing of data is warranted in the hospitals’ network between heart valve centres, which are used for referrals for complicated cases of infective endocarditis, and referral centres, which should be able to manage uncomplicated cases of infective endocarditis.

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