What is the recommended duration of postoperative treatment if the resected tissue is culture negative?
If the resected tissue is culture negative, then it is reasonable for the duration of postoperative treatment to be given less the number of days of treatment administered for native valve infection before valve replacement. However, this has been challenged by retrospectively collected data from two different medical centers which suggest that two weeks of antibiotic therapy may be sufficient in patients who undergo valve surgery and have negative valve tissue cultures, particularly in IE cases caused by VGS or Streptococcus gallolyticus (bovis).