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Published on: January 7, 2019

[Active infective endocarditis: 152 cases]

Lucía R Kazelian1, Luis A Vidal, Roberto Neme

  • 1División Cardiología, Hospital General de Agudos Dr. Cosme Argerich, Buenos Aires, Argentina. kazelian@gmail.com

Medicina
|April 24, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Active infective endocarditis (IE) remains a high-mortality disease. Complications, surgery, and refractory heart failure predict mortality, while vegetations indicate better survival.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Clinical Medicine

Context:

  • Active infective endocarditis (IE) presents diagnostic and treatment challenges.
  • Despite advances, IE mortality remains high, necessitating further research into risk factors.
  • This study analyzes a 16-year prospective registry of IE patients.

Purpose:

  • To investigate the clinical characteristics of active IE patients.
  • To identify factors associated with in-hospital mortality in IE.
  • To analyze trends in IE presentation, diagnosis, and treatment over 16 years.

Summary:

  • A prospective registry of 152 IE patients (1994-2010) revealed common causes like congenital and rheumatic heart disease.
  • Fever and heart failure were primary admission reasons; Streptococcus viridans was the most frequent pathogen.
  • Vegetations were seen in 80.9%, complications in 57.8%, and surgery was indicated in 63.2%.

Impact:

  • Overall hospital mortality was 30.2%.
  • Complications, surgical necessity, and refractory heart failure independently predicted mortality.
  • Identifying these predictors can guide interventions to improve IE patient outcomes.

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