A clinical study of subacute bacterial infection confined to the right side of the heart or the pulmonary artery.

S UBACUTE bacterial endocarditis involves the left side of the heart in nearly all cases. The complete descriptions of the disease by Libman and Friedberg,’ Blumer,2 and Middleton and Burke3 refer chiefly to this common type. The vegetations are confined to the right side of the heart in less than 4 per cent of the cases.4*6 In patent ductus arteriosus complicated by subacute bacterial endarteritis the vegetations are sometimes confined to the ductus, pulmonary artery, and pulmonic valves. Although some of the features of the right-sided type of the disease have been pointed out, notably by Gordon6 Libman and Friedberg,’ Lutembacher,‘v* and Blumgart,g it has not been described adequately. The purpose of this paper is to present a review of the clinical findings in cases proved by autopsy to have vegetations confined to the right side of the heart or the pulmonary artery.