Duke criteria for diagnosis of infectious endocarditis

Diagnostic criteria

Major criteria:

• echocardiographic findings, i.e. mass or valvular dehiscence
• blood cultures positive (x 2), bacteremia with typical micro-organisms
  • a single positive blood culture for Coxiella burnetti
  • antibody titer > 1:800
• new regurgitant murmur (valvular regurgitation)

Minor criteria:

• predisposing cardiac conditions
• history of injection drug use
• fever of > 38 degrees C
• vascular phenomena, i.e. signs of embolization
• various immunological phenomena
  • glomerulonephritis
  • positive rheumatoid factor
• miscellaneous echocardiographic & culture results

Diagnosis is made by:

• 2 major criteria
• 1 major & 3 minor criteria
• 5 minor criteria
• pathologic criteria
  • culture from or histologic examination of a valvular vegetation, a vegetation that has embolized, or an intracardiac abscess

More general terms

• criteria