OPTIMIZATION OF COMPREHENSIVE ULTRASOUND DIAGNOSIS OF INFECTIVE ENDOCARDITIS AND ITS COMPLICATIONS

Infective endocarditis is a severe and life threatening disease associated with a high rate of complications, including abscesses, pseudoaneurysms, and fistulas, as well as a mortality rate reaching thirty to forty percent. Timely and accurate diagnosis of complications is critically important for determining treatment strategy and the need for surgical intervention. Standard transthoracic echocardiography has limitations in detecting paravalvular lesions, which makes the improvement of a comprehensive ultrasound approach highly relevant.