S UBACUTE bacterial endocarditis involves the left side of the heart in nearly all cases. The complete descriptions of the disease by Libman and Friedberg,' Blumer,2 and Middleton and Burke3 refer chiefly to this common type. The vegetations are confined to the right side of the heart in less than 4 per cent of the cases.4*6 In patent ductus arteriosus complicated by subacute bacterial endarteritis the vegetations are sometimes confined to the ductus, pulmonary artery, and pulmonic valves. Although some of the features of the right-sided type of the disease have been pointed out, notably by Gordon6 Libman and Friedberg,' Lutembacher,'v* and Blumgart,g it has not been described adequately. The purpose of this paper is to present a review of the clinical findings in cases proved by autopsy to have vegetations confined to the right side of the heart or the pulmonary artery. MATERIAL A search of the literature revealed thirty-six cases in which the data were sufficiently complete for the purposes of this study. To these are added five additional cases observed at the University Hospital, bringing the total to forty-one cases. Other cases have been reported in the literature, but are not included because the descriptions, particularly from the clinical standpoint, are not sufficiently complete. Similarly, the cases of patients with patent ductus arteriosus with superimposed subacute bacterial infection who recovered following ligation or section of the ductus are not included; although the infection was presumably limited to the right side in most if not all of them, this could not be determined with certainty. Cases of acute bacterial endocarditis are not included."' Some of the reports deal with particular features of the disease and are incomplete in many respects, but in spite of this it is hoped that this report will present an adequate clinical description of the right-sided type of subacute bacterial endocarditis.
