What is the Modified Duke Criteria used for?
The Modified Duke Criteria is a diagnostic schema used to classify and evaluate patients suspected of having infective endocarditis (IE). It was developed with the guidance of the diagnostic floor and was used in a series of patients initially categorized as possible IE by the original Duke criteria. It is based on pathological and clinical criteria and has been universally accepted and is in current use. Follow-up studies have documented the specificity of this diagnostic schema, as no patients developed IE during the 12 weeks of observation. Thus, it is recommended that patients suspected of having IE should be clinically evaluated with the modified Duke criteria as the primary diagnostic schema.