Over recent years, new evidence has led to a rethink of the available guidance on the diagnosis and management of infective endocarditis (IE). This review compares the most recently available recommendations provided by the American Heart Association (AHA) IE Writing Committee, and the Task Force for the management of IE of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1,2 Class (I, II or III) and level of evidence (A, B or C) are provided for each recommendation where given by the guidelines (Tables 1, 2, 3; Figures 1, 2). As in previous comparative guidelines reviews published in the Journal,3,4,5,6,7 this review focuses on the role of imaging in the evaluation and management of patients with suspected IE.

Table 1 Indications for echocardiography in patients with suspected infective endocarditis
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Table 2 indications for non-invasive imaging in cardiac device-related infective endocarditis (CDREI)
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Table 3 Role of CT, MRI, radionuclide imaging and angiography in the assessment of IE patients
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Figure 1
figure 1

ESC and AHA recommendations for the initial assessment of patients with clinically suspected infective endocarditis using echocardiography

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Figure 2
figure 2

Role of advanced imaging in the assessment of patients with infective endocarditis. CTA, computed tomographic angiography; 18F-FDG, 18-fluorodeoxyglucose; MRA, magnetic resonance angiography; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; TEE, transesophageal echocardiography; TTE, transthoracic echocardiography

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