New AHA guidelines for endocarditis

[tobagotwo]

It's lahk ah bin sayin'...

From the article (bolding mine)http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medi...p?newsid=69557:

Contrary to long-held beliefs, the AHA's review of more than 50 years of scientific literature revealed that there is no definitive evidence that the prophylactic use of antibiotics prior to dental procedures prevents infective endocarditis (IE). Given that all drugs carry risks and that the bacteria that cause IE might become resistant to antibiotics, AHA now recommends that prophylactic antibiotic use be reserved for those patients who would have the worst outcomes if IE were contracted, such as patients with artificial heart valves, a history of endocarditis, certain serious congenital heart conditions and heart transplant patients who develop a problem with a heart valve.

*victory dance*

So they finally admit that it doesn't work , but they still want to force us (valvers) to take unneeded antibiotics, just so they won't look foolish for having imposed it on us for all those years. More mendacity!

Best wishes,

 

[Wise]

I've been taking prophylactic antibiotics prior to dental procedures for 22 years due to MVP. It has never caused me a problem. I've always had dental issues, had lots of dental work done, and haven't had a problem. I will probably never be convinced that it was prudent to pre-medicate. How can they say for sure that some weren't helped. I believe it is best to take this precaution, new guidelines or not.

 

[tobagotwo]

They're saying it doesn't help, because sorting through fifty years of documentation doesn't provide a shred of evidence that prophylactic antibiotic use works.

Even while saying they will still recommend prophylactic antibiotics for certain individuals (valves included), they are saying it is only because, these people would be most likely to be helped "...by its benefits, if any."

"...if any."

Thirty two doctors from some of America's most famous facilities and universities (including the Mayo Clinic and Boston's Brigham and Womens), researching 153 major studies, spanning over fifty years of medical records agree on this point. They aren't saying dental work may not sometimes cause bacterial endocarditis. They're saying that prophylactic antibiotics aren't prophylactic. They don't work. They're saying that there is no evidence that predosing with antibiotics prevents BE that might be caused by dental work. It's a medical rabbit's foot.

Best wishes,

 

[KristyW]

Word from my PCP

Word from my PCP

Ok folks, here's what I got on this from my Cardiologist & PCP. The ONLY people that need antibiotics for cardiac conditions before dental procedures are: mechanical valve recipients, patients with a previous history of endocarditis , patients with complicated heart histories that may include replacement of heart defects with prosthetic material or devices, or corrected defects with residual defects at or adjacent to the repair, OR heart transplants that develop valve problems. THAT'S IT. Tissue valve recipients do not need to premed according to my Doctors. Nor does someone with MVP with regurgitation. Nor patients with afib or aflutter.

Hope this helps!

 

[Adrienne]

Ok folks, here's what I got on this from my Cardiologist & PCP. The ONLY people that need antibiotics for cardiac conditions before dental procedures are: mechanical valve recipients, patients with a previous history of endocarditis , patients with complicated heart histories that may include replacement of heart defects with prosthetic material or devices, or corrected defects with residual defects at or adjacent to the repair, OR heart transplants that develop valve problems. THAT'S IT. Tissue valve recipients do not need to premed according to my Doctors. Nor does someone with MVP with regurgitation. Nor patients with afib or aflutter.

Hope this helps!

I find it hard to believe that someone with MVP with regurgitation (especially if it is severe regurgitation) does not need antibiotics before dental procedures. When I had my endocarditis in 2004, it was not even after having dental work or anything else. It just seems to me that I must have been high risk for it to just happen without having had any kind of dental or medical intervention.