Clinical Significance of a 16S-rDNA Analysis of Heart Valves in Patients with Infective Endocarditis : a Retrospective Study
A substantial proportion of patients with infective endocarditis (IE) are subjected to heart valve surgery. Microbiological findings on valves are important both for diagnostics and for tailored antibiotic therapy, post-operatively. The aims of this study were to describe microbiological findings on surgically removed valves and to examine the diagnostic benefits of 16S-rDNA PCR and sequencing (16
