Favorable ten-year experience with valve procedures for active infective endocarditis

We have reviewed our 1972 to 1982 experience with valve procedures for infective endocarditis in 52 consecutive patients to evaluate the results of an interdisciplinary policy of early operation for uncontrolled complications. There were 47 patients with native valve endocarditis and five with prosthetic valve endocarditis. Twenty-seven were drug addicts and 25 were not. Thirty-seven (71%) required operation during the active phase of the disease and 15 during the inactive phase. Ninety-three percent of the addicts, 41% of the nonaddicts, and all patients with prosthetic valve endocarditis were in the active group. The distribution of infected valves was as follows: aortic, 21 active and 10 inactive; mitral, six active and three inactive; aortic and mitral, five active and two inactive; aortic and tricuspid, one active and none inactive; and tricuspid, four active and none inactive. Streptococcus was the most common infecting organism in both groups--predominantly group D in addicts and non-D in nonaddicts. Staphylococcus, gram-negative rods, and fungi occurred only in the active group. Indications for operation were congestive heart failure alone (19 active and 15 inactive), congestive heart failure and refractory infection or major emboli (nine active and none inactive), and resistant or refractory infection alone or with emboli (nine active and none inactive). Periannular abscess or aneurysm formation was most frequent at the aortic valve site in patients with native valve endocarditis; it occurred in 13 of 25 patients (52%) in the active group and in one of 12 patients (8%) in the inactive group. Six patients with preoperative stroke syndromes underwent operation without neurological deterioration; two patients had rupture of cerebral mycotic aneurysms postoperatively. Hospital mortality was 8% (3/7) in the active group and 0% in the inactive group. The late actuarial survival rate was 64% at 5 years and 54% at 10 years. Seven of nine deaths in the addict group were related to continued drug use, with five deaths occurring in the first 18 months. These results support a policy of early operation for uncontrolled complications with attention to the particular problems of active endocarditis.