CRP and infective endocarditis: Helpful laboratory markers in distinguishing infective endocarditis from LS endocarditis are the white blood cell count (elevated in infective endocarditis and often decreased in LS endocarditis), C-reactive protein levels (elevated in infective endocarditis and relatively low in LS endocarditis), aPL levels (normal in infective endocarditis and moderate to high in LS endocarditis), and (repeated) blood cultures (positive in infective endocarditis and negative in LS endocarditis) [21,29].