Infective endocarditis amongst intravenous drug abusers seen at the University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur

Drug abuse is a major problem in Malaysia. Serious complications of intravenous drug addiction include septicaemia and infective endocarditis. We present nine cases of endocarditis occuring amongst drug abusers. The tricuspid valve was most frequently involved and the common aetiological organisms were S. aureus and Str. faecalis. There was a high mortality rate of 67% in our study, inspite of appropriate therapy. Early recognition of the disease and aggressive treatment is required to improve the associated mortality.