The Incidence of Infective Endocarditis in England is Increasing-An Assessment of the Impact of Cessation of Antibiotic Prophylaxis Using Population Statistics

Introduction: Antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) at the time of invasive procedures in patients at risk of developing infective endocarditis (IE) has historically been the focus of IE prevention. Recent changes in IE prevention guidelines in the US and Europe have reduced by more than 80% the numbers for whom AP is recommended. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines recommended complete cessation of AP in the UK in March 2008. We report the impact of this on AP prescribing and describe the incidence of IE in England befor