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Prospective comparison of infective endocarditis in Khon Kaen, Thailand and Rennes, France
George Watt1, Adele Lacroix2, Orathai Pachirat2
1Global Disease Detection Center, Thailand Ministry of Public Health-US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Collaboration, Nonthaburi, Thailand; Infectious Diseases and Intensive Care Unit, Pontchaillou University Hospital, Université Rennes-1, Rennes, France; Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand; Division of Global Health Protection, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Unite de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes, Faculte de Medicine, University of the Mediterranean, Marseille, France; Infectious Diseases and Intensive Care Unit, Pontchaillou University Hospital, INSERM U835, Université Rennes-1, Rennes, France gwattth@yahoo.com.
Abstract:
Prospectively collected, contemporary data are lacking on how the features of infective endocarditis (IE) vary according to region. We, therefore, compared IE in Rennes, France and Khon Kaen, Thailand. Fifty-eight patients with confirmed IE were enrolled at each site during 2011 and 2012 using a common protocol. Compared with French patients, Thais had a lower median age (47 versus 70 years old; P < 0.001) and reported more animal contact (86% versus 21%; P < 0.001). There were more zoonotic infections among Thai than France patients (6 and 1 cases; P = 0.017) and fewer staphylococcal infections (4 versus 15 cases; P = 0.011). Underlying rheumatic heart disease was more prevalent in Thai than in French patients (31% and 4%; P = 0.001), whereas prosthetic heart valves were less prevalent (9% and 35%; P = 0.001). Our data strengthen previous observations that IE in the tropics has distinctive demographic characteristics, risk factors, and etiologies and underscore the need for improved prevention and control strategies.
