Those living with Congenital Heart Disease may be concerned developing Endocarditis or if they have been told they no longer require antibiotic prophylaxis.
Below is an excerpt from the Canadian Paediatric Society Position Statement explaining the reasons for the 2007 change to the Guidelines (reaffirmed Feb 28, 2018):
Primary reasons for Revision of the AHA guidelines
The new guidelines were not based on the results of a single study but rather on the collective body of evidence published in numerous studies over the past two decades. The Committee sought to construct the present guidelines such that they would be in the best interest of patients and providers, would be reasonable and prudent, and would represent the conclusions of published studies and the collective wisdom of many experts on IE and relevant national and international societies. Four primary reasons were cited to form the rationale for revising the guidelines:
Target groups for prophylaxis
The new guidelines suggest that prophylaxis should be targeted at conditions that are associated with the highest probability of adverse outcomes from IE. For example, it has
been determined that the risk of mortality from IE due to viridans streptococcal infection of prosthetic valves is at least 20% [3]-[5], while the mortality in the case of native valves is 5% or less [6]-[8]. In this regard, prophylaxis is reasonable for patients with the following conditions (Table 1):
TABLE 1 Indications for prophylaxis against infective endocarditis in patients undergoing dental procedures |
|
Prophylaxis indicated |
Prophylaxis not indicated |
Prosthetic cardiac valves Previous infective endocarditis Unrepaired cyanotic congenital heart disease, including palliative shunts and conduits Completely repaired congenital heart defect with prosthetic material or device, during the first six months after the procedure Repaired Cardiac transplant recipients with cardiac valvulopathy Rheumatic heart disease if prosthetic valves or prosthetic material used in valve repair |
Atrial septic defects Ventricular septal defects Patent ductus arteriosus Mitral valve prolapse Previous Kawasaki disease Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy Previous coronary artery bypass graft surgery Cardiac pacemakers (intravascular and epicardial) and implanted defibrillators Bicuspid aortic valves Coarctation of the aorta Calcified aortic stenosis Pulmonic stenosis |
It should be noted that with the exception of the conditions listed above, antibiotic prophylaxis is no longer recommended for any other form of CHD. With respect to prosthetic material, prophylaxis is reasonable for six months because endothelialization of prosthetic material usually occurs within six months after valve placement.
Dental procedures for which endocarditis prophylaxis is reasonable for patients in the high-risk target group.
In addition to identifying the underlying cardiac conditions that warrant prophylaxis, the Committee addressed the dental procedures for which prophylaxis is warranted if such procedures are performed in high-risk patients. The duration of bacteremia following several activities of daily living, such as chewing food and tooth brushing, far exceed that due to a single tooth extraction, for example [11][12]. For illustrative purposes, these durations have been estimated to be 5730 min over a one-month period for the activities of daily living [11], compared with 6 min to 30 min for a single tooth extraction [12]. The procedures for which prophylaxis is reasonable are as follows:
The following procedures and events do not require prophylaxis:
To review other procedures that may require antibiotic prophylaxis or to read the full article, please visit Canadian Paediatric Society Position Statement at https://www.cps.ca/en/documents/position/infective-endorcarditis-guidelines