Endocarditis historical background


 * Associate Editor-in-Chief:

Overview
What follows is a timeline in the history of endocarditis:


 * 1554: Earliest report of endocarditis in medical books
 * 1669: Accurately described tricuspid valve endocarditis
 * 1646: Described unusual "outgrowths" from autopsy of patient with endocarditis; detected murmurs by placing hand on patient's chest
 * 1708: Described unusual structures in entrance of aorta
 * 1715: Described abnormality in aortic valve and mitral valve
 * 1749: Described valvular lesions
 * 1769: Linked infectious disease and endocarditis; observed association with the spleen
 * 1784: Accurately drew intracardiac abnormalities
 * 1797: Showed relationship between rheumatism and heart disease
 * 1799: Described inflammatory process associated with endocarditis
 * 1806: Described unusual structures in heart as "vegetations," syphilitic virus as causative agent of endocarditis, and theory of antiviral treatment of endocarditis
 * 1809: Indicated vegetations were not "outgrowths" or "buds" but particles adhering to heart wall
 * 1815: Elucidated inflammatory processes associated with endocarditis
 * 1816: Invented cylindrical stethoscope to listen to heart murmurs; dismissed link between venereal disease and endocarditis
 * 1832: Confirmed Laennec's observations
 * 1835-40: Named endocardium and endocarditis; described symptoms; prescribed herbal tea and bloodletting as treatment regimen; described link between acute rheumatoid arthritis and endocarditis
 * 1852: Described consequences of embolization of vegetations throughout body. Described cutaneous nodules (named "Osler's nodes" by Libman)
 * 1858-71: Examined fibrin vegetation associated with endocarditis by microscope; coined term "embolism;" discussed role of bacteria, vibrios, and micrococci in endocarditis
 * 1861: Confirmed Virchow's theory on emboli
 * 1862: Described granulations or foreign elements in blood and valves, which were motile and resistant to alkalis
 * 1868-70: Described infected arterial blood as originating from heart; proposed scarlet fever as cause of endocarditis
 * 1869: Established "parasites" on skin transported to heart and attached to endocardium; named "mycosis endocardii"
 * 1872: Detected microorganisms in vegetations of endocarditis
 * 1878: All cases of endocarditis were infectious in origin
 * 1878: Combined experimental physiology and infection to produce animal model of endocarditis in rabbit; noted valve had to be damaged before bacteria grafted onto valve
 * 1878: Micrococci enter vessels that valves were fitted into; valves exposed to abnormal mechanical attacks over long period created favorable niche for bacterial colonization
 * 1879: Virchow's student; employed early animal model of endocarditis
 * 1879: Proposed etiology of endocarditis was based on infectious model and treatment should focus on eliminating "parasitic infection"
 * 1880: Working with Pasteur, proposed use of routine blood cultures
 * 1881-86: Believed endocarditis could appear during various infections; noted translocation of respiratory pathogen from pulmonary lesion to valve through blood
 * 1883: Believed microorganisms were result, not cause, of endocarditis
 * 1884: Named disease "infective endocarditis"
 * 1886: Demonstrated various bacteria introduced to bloodstream could cause endocarditis on valve that had previous lesion
 * 1885: Synthesized work of others relating to endocarditis
 * 1899: Described streptococcal, staphylococcal, pneumococcal, and gonococcal endocarditis
 * 1903: First described "endocarditis lenta"
 * 1909: Credited by Osler as first to observe cutaneous nodes (named "Osler's nodes" by Libman) in patients with endocarditis
 * 1909: Analyzed 150 cases of endocarditis and published diagnostic criteria relating to signs and symptoms
 * 1910: Described initial classification scheme to include "subacute endocarditis," with clinical signs/symptoms; absolute diagnosis required blood cultures
 * 1981: Described Beth Israel criteria based on strict case definitions
 * 1994: New criteria utilizing specific echocardiographic findings
 * 1995: Antibiotic treatment of adults with infective endocarditis caused by streptococci, enterococci, staphylococci, and          HACEK (a) microorganisms
 * 1996: Modified Duke Criteria to allow serologic diagnosis of Coxiella burnetii
 * 1997: Guidelines for preventing bacterial endocarditis
 * 1997: Suggested modifications to Duke criteria for clinical diagnosis of native valve and prosthetic valve endocarditis:           analysis of 118 pathologically proven cases
 * 1998: Guidelines for antibiotic treatment of streptococcal, enterococcal, and staphylococcal endocarditis
 * 1998: Antibiotic treatment of infective endocarditis due to viridans streptococci, enterococci, and other streptococci; recommendations for surgical treatment of endocarditis
 * 2000: Updated and modified Duke Criteria
 * 2002: Duke Criteria to include a molecular diagnosis of causal agents
 * 2001-3: Described etiology of Bartonella spp., Tropheryma whipplei, and Coxiella burnetii in endocarditis