Risk of Infective Endocarditis in Patients with Spinal Surgical Site Infection and Bacteremia.

Surgical site infection (SSI) is responsible for significant morbidity, prolonged hospital stays, and increased costs. Infectious endocarditis (IE) is a rare but serious complication of bacteremia, particularly that resulting from SSI. The VIRSTA score predicts the risk of IE and determines the priority of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in patients with bacteremia.