[Interdisciplinary endocarditis team : Structure, evidence and clinical benefit].

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a severe disease with high morbidity and mortality rates. Interdisciplinary endocarditis teams, consisting of specialists in cardiology, cardiac surgery, infectious diseases and microbiology, have been shown to improve patient care. Current guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) explicitly recommend the implementation. Observational studies showed significant reductions in hospital and 1‑year mortality, shorter hospital stays and fewer complications. Such multidisciplinary teams enable faster diagnosis through multimodal imaging, e.g. positron emission tomography (PET) computed tomography (CT), an early and targeted antibiotic therapy and optimized surgical care. A rapid referral to specialized centers with established teams clearly improves the prognosis. Registry data such as European Endocarditis (EURO-ENDO) and the International Collaboration on Endocarditis-Prospective Cohort Study (ICE-PCS) also promote quality improvement and standardization. The widespread implementation of the endocarditis team concept is recommended.