Subacute bacterial endocarditis in a young child.

Horder (1909) reviewed 150 cases of subacute bacterial endocarditis at all ages and found that congenital heart lesions were present in eight (5-3 ). In 250 similar cases reviewed by Kelson and White (1945) there were 13 (5-2%) congenital heart lesions, and in a further 88 cases seen between 1939 and 1944 White, Mathews and Evans (1945) recorded 12 (13%), whilst Seabury (1947) put the incidence at 13 to 15% and Gartrell (1949) at 8%. Kelson (1945) reviewed the literature between 1939 and 1944 and found mention of only eight cases of congenital heart lesions-excluing patent ductus arteriosus-in which subacute bacterial endocarditis was a complication. Gelfinan and Levine (1942) analysed 34,023 necropsies performed in various American hospitals and found that of the 453 (1 33 ) congenital heart lesions, subacute bacterial endocarditis occurred in 35 (6 6%J.