Table 1.

Impact of pre-operative antibiotic treatment on PCR results and valve cultures

Intravenous antibiotic treatment started in relation to surgery	Number of cases (n = 87)	PCR result n (%)	Valve culture positive n (%)
On operation day (or after)	11	10 (90.9)	4 (36.4)
Within 2–13 days before operation	35	32 (91.4)	15 (42.9)
Within 14–28 days before operation	17	10 (58.8)	0
More than 28 days before operation	17	8 (47.1)	0
Within 7 days before operation, but previous longer course	7	4 (57.1)	0