Clinical Features and Patient Outcomes in Infective Endocarditis with Surgical Indication: A Single-Centre Experience

Fausto Pizzino1, Umberto Paradossi1, Giancarlo Trimarchi2

  • 1Cardiology Unit, Heart Centre, Fondazione Gabriele Monasterio-Regione Toscana, 54100 Massa, Italy.

Insights

Infective endocarditis patients with heart failure or embolic events face higher risks of major adverse events. IE-associated heart failure also increased the risk of death in this vulnerable patient group.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Clinical Medicine

Background:

  • Infective endocarditis (IE) presents significant risks including embolic events (EEs), uncontrolled infection, and heart failure (HF).
  • Understanding predictors of adverse outcomes in IE is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association of IE-associated heart failure (IE-aHF) and embolic events (EEs) with major adverse events (MAEs) and all-cause death.
  • To identify independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 102 patients with IE and a surgical indication was enrolled between October 2015 and December 2018.
  • The primary endpoint was a composite of MAEs (all-cause death, hospitalizations, IE relapses).
  • The secondary endpoint was all-cause death.

Main Results:

  • IE-aHF and EEs were independently associated with MAEs (p < 0.05 for both).
  • Kaplan-Meier analysis showed significantly worse MAE-free survival in patients with EEs and IE-aHF (p < 0.01).
  • IE-aHF, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), abscess, and prosthetic detachment were independently associated with all-cause death.

Conclusions:

  • IE-aHF and EEs are significant independent predictors of MAEs in IE patients.
  • IE-aHF also independently predicts all-cause death, highlighting its critical role in prognosis.
Abstract