Infective Endocarditis Case Study

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Understanding Infective Endocarditis
Introduction and Background
Overview
Infective endocarditis (IE) is a type of bacterial infection in the inner most part of the heart muscle, which is called the endocardium (Mayo Clinic, 2014). Often times, it may be referred to as bacterial endocarditis, as the two terms are interchangeable. As it is in the inner layer of the heart muscle, it is usually an infection of the muscle tissue itself, as well as at least one of the heart valves. Many people are unaware of what exactly infective endocarditis is and why or how it should be treated. In general, infective endocarditis is a more rare disease, according to Medscape (2015), “In the United States, the 2009 incidence of IE was approximately 12.7 cases
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A man named Lazaire Riviere, while performing an autopsy, first discovered infective endocarditis in 1674 (Medscape, 2015). Since the first findings documented were after death, there was still much research to do in this area of cardiovascular science. William Olser was the first person to compile an in-depth explanation of infective endocarditis in English in the year of 1885. Furthermore, in 1966, the first modern-times symposium of infective endocarditis was developed as a series of journal articles by authors Lerner and Weinstein, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Although the understanding and research of this disease is well understood today, it is still a work in progress. Sometimes the signs and symptoms of the disease are not always present, effective therapy is now being challenged due to many new antibiotic resistant bacteria, and often times artificial parts placed inside the heart that may be required as part of treatment can be hard for the body to become use to. Not to mention, there is an abundance of devices that can be used inside the body, so deciding which is best could be problematic. Clearly, the assumption can be made that infective endocarditis is a devastating and serious condition. Research on this topic is useful to have because it helps nurses understand the clinical manifestations of the disease, early signs to watch for or how to prevent is, and how to talk to patient and families now that they know what infective endocarditis