[Profile of infective endocarditis at Brazzaville University Hospital]

The goal of this retrospective study was to analyze the current profile of all 35 consecutive patients with infectious endocarditis seen at Brazzaville University Hospital's department of cardiology and internal medicine from January, 2001, through December, 2009. Infectious endocarditis was diagnosed most often when a heart murmur was associated with septicemia and typical vegetations on echocardiography. During this period, 24 women and 11 men were admitted for infectious endocarditis, accounting for 0.9% of admissions. Their median age was 30.6 ± 12.8 years (range: 15 to 66 years), and 69% were women. The preexisting lesions included rheumatic valvulopathy (9 cases), congenital heart disease (3 cases), and heart disease already treated surgically (3 cases). Among the valvular lesions, mitral regurgitation predominated (24 cases), isolated in 17 cases and associated with aortic regurgitation in 7. There were three cases of pure tricuspid regurgitation. A principal portal of infection was found in 24 patients (69%): oral (11 cases), urinary (7 cases), genital (5 cases), and cutaneous (1 case). A blood culture was performed for 14 patients (40%): seven were positive, four of them for streptococci. Vegetations were observed in 32 cases (91.4%) and mutilating valve lesions in 8 (22.8%). The complications included heart failure in 30 cases (86%) and an embolism in 8 (23%). One relapse was noted. Cardiac surgery was indicated for 13 patients (37%) but could not be performed. The hospital lethality rate was 29%. Infectious endocarditis is a rare disorder that can be life-threatening, especialy in the absence of cardiac surgery. Its prevention, although complex, constitutes the key to management in our setting.