Clinical Outcomes of Concurrent Ventricular Electrical Storm and Infection

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Infectious Diseases
• Critical Care Medicine

Background:

• Electrical storm (ES) is a serious condition involving ventricular arrhythmias.
• The relationship between ES and concurrent infection remains unclear.
• Understanding this association is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with ES and co-occurring infections.
• To compare the prognosis of ES patients with and without infection.
• To identify risk factors for mortality in ES patients.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of 309 ES patients from May 2004 to March 2022.
• Patients categorized into infection and non-infection groups.
• Comparison of clinical outcomes and survival rates between groups.

Main Results:

• 68 patients (22%) had concurrent infections; 28 had bacteremia, with MRSA being a common pathogen.
• 15 patients (5.3%) developed bacteremia after ES, suggesting potential iatrogenic infection.
• The infection group exhibited significantly higher 2-year mortality (P < 0.001).
• Bacteremia (OR: 5.23) and decreased LVEF (OR: 0.95 per 1% increase) were independent mortality predictors.

Conclusions:

• Concurrent infection is associated with increased mortality in ES patients.
• A notable percentage of ES patients may develop bacteremia during hospitalization.
• Bacteremia and reduced LVEF are critical independent predictors of mortality in ES.