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Colonoscopy and risk of infective endocarditis in the elderly
Garcia-Albeniz, X., Hsu, J., Lipsitch, M., Bretthauer, M., Logan, R. W., Hernandez-Diaz, S., & Hernan, M. A. (2016). Colonoscopy and risk of infective endocarditis in the elderly. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 68(5), 570-571. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2016.05.041
The risk of infective endocarditis (IE) after colonoscopy is unknown. A causal effect of colonoscopy on IE could alter the benefit-risk ratio of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, necessitating antibiotic prophylaxis before colonoscopy, as recommended for high-risk patients before dental procedures (1), or influence the choice of CRC screening tests. Because of the scarce evidence, the American Heart Association and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy do not consider colonoscopy a procedure conferring a higher IE risk 1, 2.