The clinical utility of tissue polymerase chain reaction, tissue culture and tissue histology in blood culture-negative infective endocarditis in South Africa – insights from the Groote Schuur Hospital Infective Endocarditis Registry

In this single-centre study, perioperative serum serological testing was underutilised in BCNIE. Tissue PCR was valuable in determining the aetiology of BCNIE, and influenced management. Tissue culture and histopathology had a poor yield and added little value in identifying the microbiological cause of BCNIE. Finally, the most common BCNIE causative organism identified by additional non-culture testing in our setting is Bartonella spp.