L'ENDOCARDITE INFETTIVA CON PARTICOLARE RIFERIMENTO ALLA MAGGIORE INCIDENZA DI ERRORI DIAGNOSTICI NEI SOGGETTI ANZIANI. STUDIO DI UNA CASISTICA AUTOPSICA

20091 autopsies performed in the period 1946-77 yielded 110 cases of infective endocarditis. The anatomic findings were compared with those of published studies on groups of patients of similar age. The diagnosis of infective endocarditis was suspected during life in 40.6% of the patients under 50 years of age, in 10.8% over 50 and in none of the patients over 70. Moreover, the diagnostic accuracy declined from 36.8% in the period 1946-61 to 23.3% in the 1962-77 period. These negative data are discussed, emphasizing the usefulness of autopsy as a systematic check on clinical diagnostics in practical medicine, and especially in geriatric medicine.