Subacute bacterial endocarditis
Evidence: Unconfirmed
Names
Subacute bacterial endocarditis
Subacute infective endocarditis
Subacute native valve endocarditis
Description
Subacute bacterial endocarditis (SBE) is a type of bacterial endocarditis. Endocarditis is an infection of the inner lining of your heart chambers and heart valves (the endocardium). In SBE, the lining inside the heart valves become infected.
SBE is not an autoimmune disease, but patients are at increased risk of developing autoimmune disease following SBE.
This condition most frequently occurs following surgery to a region of the body infected with streptococcal bacteria. Invasive surgery in the infected tissue facilitates the spread of the bacteria to the heart valves by way of the blood. The infection normally develops slowly during the two weeks after surgery and may persist for months. SBE typically only occurs in patients who already have damage to their heart valves from other health conditions. SBE is difficult to diagnosis because initial symptoms consist almost exclusively of feelings of malaise, which are also common in many other disorders. SBE may trigger the onset of autoimmune conditions, such as vasculitis. If left untreated, complications can be fatal; however, positive outcomes are expected with early medical care.
Patient Groups
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Prevalence
Incidence for all types of bacterial endocarditis is 3 to 10 cases per 100,000 people per year (US Cases: 9,600 - 32,000). However, it is not known how many of these cases are related to autoimmune disease, and prevalence of SBE is not known [Cahill 2017].
Typical Age of onset
All types of bacterial endocarditis are most common over the age of 50.
Source: Cresti et al (2017)
Symptoms
Coughing
Chest pain
Abdominal pain
Pain in the fingers/toes
Tingling skin (paresthesia)
Episodes of rapid heartbeat (tachycardia)
Low back pain
Joint pain (arthralgia)
Fever
Night sweats
Chills
Headache
Loss of appetite
Weight loss
Heart murmurs
Blood in the urine
Red or purple dots across the chest (petechiae)
Reddish-brown streaks under the nails (splinter hemorrhages)
Painful bumps on pads of fingers/toes (Osler’s nodes)
