ObjectiveTo explore the clinical value of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in the diagnosis of infective endocarditis. MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the transthoracic echocardiogram in 35 patients with infective endocarditis confirmed between September 2003 and September 2013. Patients underwent routine heart scan in all sections to measure sizes of all chambers and cardiac function, observe morphologies, activities and functions of all valves and ventricular walls, and diagnose whether underlying heart diseases exist, focusing on intracardiac vegetations and their distributions, morphologies, sizes, numbers, echoes and activities, and a full analysis of the blood culture findings was also conducted. ResultsOf the 35 patients undergoing initial TTE, 29 were positive, and 6 were negative (2 positive and 4 negative in the reexamination one week later). Vegetations were found in the mitral valve (8/35), aortic valve (15/35), tricuspid valve (5/35), pulmonary valve (1/35), pulmonary arterial wall (1/35) and right ventricle (1/35), respectively. There were 29 (8 and 21 with congenital and acquired heart diseases, respectively) and 6 patients with and without underlying heart diseases, respectively. Of the 35 blood cultures, 33 were positive and 2 were negative. ConclusionsTTE is rapid and accurate for early diagnosis of infective endocarditis, precise localization and rough quantification of vegetations, determination of whether valve damage occurs and what its severity is, and detection of whether complications exist. It is valuable for early diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and prognosis judgment.