[Clinical and laboratory findings in a series of cases of infective endocarditis].

Objective: To describe clinical and laboratory data of infective endocarditis (IE) in 28 children from Vitória, state of Espírito Santo, Brazil.

Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 28 children aged 18 years and under admitted to the Infectious Diseases Unit of Nossa Senhora da Glória Children's Hospital with a diagnosis of IE from January 1993 to December 2001. The diagnosis of IE was based on the criteria established by the Duke Endocarditis Service (Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA): positive blood cultures and echocardiogram (primary criteria); and fever, history of heart disease, recent heart murmur, and vascular and immunological phenomena (secondary criteria).