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Background

Infective endocarditis is a rare condition (< 10 in 100 000) with considerable mortality and morbidity. 1 The evidence base on the use of antibiotic prophylaxis against infective endocarditis is limited. This short clinical guideline aims to provide clear guidance on the use of antibiotic prophylaxis against infective endocarditis by giving evidence based recommendations.

Methods

This guideline was developed as a short clinical guideline. Short clinical guidelines tackle only part of a care pathway and are intended to allow the rapid (9-11 month timescale) development of guidelines for areas of care for which the NHS requires guidance. Short clinical guidelines are developed by the NICE technical team using the same methods as existing standard NICE guidelines developed by the National Collaborating Centres (www. nice. org. uk).