Platelets are integral to cardiac vegetations that evolve in infectious endocarditis. It has been postulated that the antiplatelet aggregation effect of aspirin (ASA) might diminish vegetation evolution and embolic rates.
Acetylsalicylic acid reduces vegetation bacterial density, hematogenous bacterial dissemination, and frequency of embolic events in experimental Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis through antiplatelet and antibacterial effects.
Division of Adult Infectious Diseases, Division of Cardiology (S.M.S.), St. John's Cardiovascular Research Center, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA, USA. kupferwasser@humc.edu
