Background. Little is known about the current clinical profile and outcomes of patients with infective endocarditis (IE) in South Africa. Methods. We conducted a retrospective review of the records of patients admitted to Groote Schuur Hospital between 2009 and 2016 fulfilling universal criteria for definite or possible IE, in search of demographic, clinical, microbiological, echocardiographic, treatment and outcome information. Results. 105 patients fulfilled the modified Duke criteria for IE. The median age of the cohort was 39 years (IQR 29-51), with a male preponderance (61.9%). The majority of patients (72.4%) had left-sided native valve endocarditis, 14% had right-sided disease, and 13.3% had prosthetic valve endocarditis. A third of the cohort had rheumatic heart disease. Although 41.1% of patients with left-sided disease had negative blood cultures, the three most common organisms cultured in this subgroup were Staphylococcus aureus (18.9%), Streptococcus spp. (16.7%) and Enterococcus spp. (6.7%). Participants with right-sided endocarditis were younger (29 years (IQR 27-37)), were predominantly intravenous drug users (IVDU; 73.3%) and the majority cultured positive for S. aureus (73.3%) with frequent septic pulmonary complications (40.0%). The overall in-hospital mortality was 16.2%, with no deaths in the group with right-sided endocarditis. Predictors of death in our patients were heart failure (OR 8.16, CI 1.77-37.70; p=0.007) and an age > 45 years (OR 4.73, CI 1.11- 20.14; p=0.036). Valve surgery was associated with a reduction in mortality (OR 0.09, CI 0.02-0.43; p=0.003). Conclusions. Infective endocarditis in a typical teaching tertiary care centre in South Africa remains an important clinical problem. In this setting, it continues to affect mainly young people with post-inflammatory valve disease and congenital heart disease. IE is associated with an in-hospital mortality that remains high. Intravenous drug-associated endocarditis caused by S. aureus is an important IE subset, comprising approximately 10% of all cases, a fact which was not reported 15 years ago, and culture-negative endocarditis remains highly prevalent. Heart failure in IE carries significant risk of death and needs a more intensive level of care in hospital. Finally, cardiac surgery was associated with reduced mortality, with the largest impact in those patients with heart failure.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1976.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1976.

BACKGROUND: Infective endocarditis (IE) is an infectious disease, most often bacterial in etiology, which affects the endocardial tissue layer of the heart. Despite advances in diagnostic technology, surgical technique, and antimicrobial therapy, IE remains a high-mortality disease. OBJECTIVE: This is a proposed quality improvement initiative for the Boston Medical Center (BMC) inpatient medicine service. The initiative aims to identify predictors of mortality in patients with IE, and then use the predictors to create a mortality risk-assessment checklist. The checklist will serve as a clinical tool for medicine service providers to help determine if upgrade to ICU level of care is warranted. With early upgrade to an ICU setting, patients with a high risk of mortality will receive more individualized care and expedited medical intervention. The goal of this quality improvement initiative is to decrease mortality rate in patients with IE at BMC. METHODS: This quality improvement initiative will implement the PDSA (plan, do, study, act) model for quality improvement. The checklist will be integrated into the electronic health record system at BMC and will be implemented over a two-year time period. Each PDSA cycle will last one year, and between PDSA cycles the checklist will be modified according to medical provider feedback. The data will be gathered through chart reviews to determine pre and post-checklist differences in number of transfers to the ICU and overall mortality rates of IE patients at BMC. RESULTS: The literature review of this proposed quality improvement initiative has identified nine independent risk factors for mortality in patients with IE: Staphylococcus aureus as infective organism, New York Heart Association class IV heart failure, left ventricular ejection fraction < 40%, vegetation size ≥ 15 mm, age > 50 years, diabetes mellitus, peripheral dermatologic findings on physical examination, serum neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio > 5.45, and serum D-dimer level > 4.0 mg/L. CONCLUSION: If medical providers had access to a risk assessment tool to help identify IE patients with a high risk of mortality, they could more accurately determine appropriate level of care, expedite medical intervention, and possibly reduce rates of in-hospital death in patients with IE.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Göteborg : Göteborgs universitet , 2006. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of left-sided Infective Endocarditis (IE) is challenging due to the presence of both surgical and medical interventions. The choice typically depends on the patient’s surgical risk and severity of infection. Our aim is to compare outcomes of IE patients who undergo valve replacement surgery with patients who are treated with solely antibiotics. METHODS: Patients undergoing valve surgery at our institution from 1995 to 2014 (n=196) and patients who were treated medically for IE from 2001 to 2014 (n=120) were included in this study. In total, 316 patients were included and clinical data was retrospectively collected from chart review. Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Scores were calculated to assess for surgical risk and data for preoperative fever, angina, and abscess was collected to assess for severity of infection. The primary outcome of interest was mortality at 30 days and 1 year post-treatment and secondary outcomes included post-treatment development of septic shock, MI, embolic events, recurrence of infection, stroke, and renal dysfunction. Cox regression analyses were performed to assess the likelihood of mortality based on the patient’s pre-intervention comorbidities and characteristics. A Kaplan-Meier Analysis was also conducted to assess for survival at both 30 days and 1 year. RESULTS: Pre-operative fever (68.88% surgical vs 52.50% medical, p=0.002), angina (13.78% surgical vs 2.50% medical, p<0.05), and presence of abscess (33.37% surgical vs 6.67% medical, p<0.05) were significantly higher in the surgical population. Mortality at both 30-days (7.65% surgical vs 29.17% medical, p<0.05) and 1 year (17.35% surgical vs 46.67% medical, p<0.05) was significantly higher in the medical cohort. Mortality in patients presenting with valvular abscess was significantly higher in the surgical population at 30 days (4.5% surgical vs 62.5% medical, p<0.05) and 1 year (15.15% surgical vs. 75.00% medical, p<0.05). Surgical risk was significantly higher in medical patients overall (p<0.05), but not significantly higher in the pathogen specific subgroups. By individual pathogen, medical mortality was significantly higher at both 30 days and 1 year in the MRSA (p=0.0004 and p=0.0002) and Staphylococcus population (p=0.001 and p=0.0005) but only significantly higher in the Streptococcus population at 1 year (p=0.032). CONCLUSION: Valve Replacement Surgery in patients with left-sided MRSA and non-MRSA Staphylococcus IE leads to significantly better mortality outcomes at 30 days and 1 year than medical management. Specifically, we suggest that patients with preoperative valvular abscess undergo valve replacement surgery, regardless of pathogen, and that patients with MRSA and non-MRSA Staphylococcus IE be strongly considered for surgical intervention.

Coincident with an increased use of cardiac rhythm management devices (CRMD) has been an increase in the number of pacemaker and cardioverter-defibrillator infections. CRMD endocarditis accounts for about 10% of all device-related infections, and cardiac infection caused by Candida sp. is a rare event. To date, only sporadic reports of this unusual and life-threatening event have been reported. By describing a case of CRMD-related Candida endocarditis and conducting a literature review, we provide a detailed characterisation of this unusual clinical entity with an emphasis on diagnosis, management and treatment. A case of CRMD-related Candida endocarditis is presented and a computer search for confirmed cases of CRMD-Candida endocarditis was conducted. Current recommendations for management and treatment were documented. From 1969 to 2009, 15 patients with CRMD-Candida endocarditis (12 pacemaker and three implanted cardioverter-defibrillator) were documented. All were males, non-albicans Candida sp. were frequently recovered, a major fungal embolus occurred in 27% of patients and two of 10 patients who received defined antifungal therapy and device explantation expired. CRMD Candida endocarditis is a rare and serious clinical event; isolates can include Candida albicans and other Candida sp., and treatment involves both targeted antifungal therapy and device removal.

Foram estudados 300 episódios de endocardite infecciosa (EI) em 288 pacientes acompanhados no Instituto do Coração do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, no período de outubro de 1978 a agosto de 1986, com o intuito de avaliar a probabilidade de óbito e assim identificar os pacientes sob maior risco de evolução desfavorável. As idades dos pacientes variaram entre 0,2 a 78 (média de 30, desvio padrão de 16,06) anos, correspondentes a pacientes do sexo masculino em 185 (62%) episódios e feminino em 115 (38%). Procedeu-se a análise univariada (testes de qui quadrado e exato de Fischer, análise de variância) para se identificar variáveis cujas distribuições diferissem quanto a mortalidade, para em seguida realizar a análise multivariada com o emprego de regressão logística, a fim de estimar a probabilidade de óbito. Para isso, foi desenvolvido um modelo estatístico e aplicado a casuística e, a casos hipotéticos, para o estudo conceitual. Não houve diferença de distribuição significativa quanto a mortalidade em relação a idade, sexo, tempo decorrido entre o início dos sintomas e a hospitalização, presença de antecedente de manipulação possível de induzir a bacteriemia, informação de lesão cutânea na história clínica, uso prévio de antimicrobiano, presença de petéquias, esplenomegalia, dimensão da área cardíaca na radiografia de tórax, presença de vegetação no ecocardiograma, duração da antibioticoterapia pre-operatória, portadores de aneurisma micótico, embolia arterial sistêmica, infecção em câmaras cardíacas direitas em relação à infecção de câmaras cardíacas esquerdas, infecção em prótese valvar antes ou depois de quatro meses de seu implante, infecção em prótese aórtica em relação à infecção de prótese mitral, prótese única em relação à dupla prótese, velocidade de eritrossedimentação, taxa de hemoglobina no sangue, taxas de gamaglobulina e creatinina séricas. Houve diferença significativa quanto à mortalidade considerando-se o estado cardíaco anterior à EI, a localização da EI, os agentes etiológicos, a alteração no exame do fundo de olho, o número de complicações, a taxa de mucoproteína e albumina séricas e a taxa de leucócitos do sangue, os portadores de infecção em prótese valvar em relação à infecção em estrutura natural. Na análise multivariada foram empregados o estado cardíaco anterior à EI (portadores de valvopatia, de prótese valvar cardíaca, de cardiopatias congênitas, e pacientes sem evidência de cardiopatia prévia), o agente etiológico [estreptococos, Staphylococcus aureus, outras bactérias (incluindo-se as bactérias gram-negativas, gram-positivas excetuando-se os estreptococos e os estafilococos, e os Staphylococcus epidermis) e os portadores de EI com hemoculturas negativas], a presença ou ausência de complicações e as taxas de leucócitos do sangue, de mucoproteína e de albumina séricas. O modelo estatístico desenvolvido, que incorporou informações do estado cardíaco anterior à EI, do agente etiológico, das complicações e da taxa de leucócitos do sangue, era aplicável a 229 episódios e permitiu prever adequadamente 158 entre 173 evoluções de pacientes que receberam alta hospitalar e 27 entre 56 evoluções de enfermos que faleceram; estimar como alta hospitalar 29 pacientes que faleceram e como óbito 15 pacientes que receberam alta hospitalar, classificando corretamente 185 dos 229 episódios. Aplicado a pacientes hipotéticos dos diferentes subgrupos considerados na análise o modelo demonstra, com base em nossa experiência, que a probabilidade de óbito será maior nos portadores de prótese valvar cardíaca, endocardite por microorganismos agrupados como \"outras bactérias\" (bactérias gram-negativas, Staphylococcus epidermidis, e outras bactérias gram positivas excetuando-se estafilococos e estreptococos) e por Staphylococcus aureus, na presença de complicações. À presença de complicações foi a variável que exerceu maior influência na probabilidade de óbito; a sua ausência minimiza sobremaneira essa probabilidade qualquer que seja o estado cardíaco anterior à EI e o agente etiológico. Nossos dados permitem sugerir que considerando de modo simultâneo e conjunto o estado cardíaco anterior à EI, o agente etiológico, a presença ou ausência de complicações e a taxa de leucócitos do sangue contribuem na avaliação prognóstica em portadores de EI. Entre essas variáveis, a participação da presença de complicações e a mais ressaltada. Na ausência de complicações a probabilidade de óbito reduz-se acentuadamente. / In order to assess the probability of death in the course of infective endocarditis we studied 300 episodes involving 288 patients, followed from October 1978 up to August 1986. The ages ranged from 0.2 to 78 (mean 30, standard deviation 16.06) years; 185 (62%) episodes occurred in male patients and 115 (38%) in female patients. As a first step we tested several variables against mortality through univariated analysis (chi square test, Fisher\'s exact test, analysis of variance). The variables showing significant differences in the univariated test were then submitted to multivariate analysis (logistic regression), to develop a statistical model to assess the contribution of each of the selected variable to the probability expression and to identify the probability of death for each patient. There was no significant difference in mortality related to age, sex, time elapsed between onset of symptoms and hospital admission, previous manipulation usually associated with bacteremia, information of cutaneous lesions, previous antimicrobial therapy, petechiae, splenomegaly, cardiac dimensions on chest roentgenogram, vegetations detected on echocardiogram, pre operative antibiotic therapy, presence of my cotic aneurysm, arterial embolism, right sided vs. left sided endocarditis, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, blood hemoglobin, serum gama globulin, serum creatinin, early prosthetic valve infection vs. late prosthetic valve infection, prosthetic aortic valve vs. prosthetic mitral valve, single prosthesis vs. two prosthesis. There was significant difference in mortality related to cardiac status before the endocarditis, etiologic agent, fundoscopic abnormality on indirect ophtalmoscopy, frequency of complications. serum mucoprotein, serum albumin, blood leukocyte count, prosthetic valve endocarditis in relation to native valve endocarditis. The model developed through logistic regression included the cardiac status before the endocarditis (valvular heart disease, congenital heart disease, prosthetic heart valves or no known heart disease}, etiologic agent (streptococci, Staphylococcus aureus, other bacteria, negative blood cultures), presence of complications, blood leukocyte count. The model could be applied to 229 episodes. It detected correctly the evolution in 185 of 229 episodes, and identified 158 in 173 patients discharged from the hospital as well as 27 in 56 patients who died. There was also prevision for hospital discharge in 29 patients who died and for death in 15 patients discharged from the hospital. The probability of death is higher in patients with prosthetic heart valve, when the etiologic agent is the Staphylococcus aureus and the group of gram negative bacteria, gram positive bacteria other than streptococci and staphylococci and Staphylococcus epidermis, in the presence of complications. In conclusion, the informations provided by cardiac status before the endocarditis, etiologic agent, presence or absence of complications and blood leukocyte count may be useful in the assessment of the outcome of patients with infective endocarditis.

Foram estudados 300 episódios de endocardite infecciosa (EI) em 288 pacientes acompanhados no Instituto do Coração do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, no período de outubro de 1978 a agosto de 1986, com o intuito de avaliar a probabilidade de óbito e assim identificar os pacientes sob maior risco de evolução desfavorável. As idades dos pacientes variaram entre 0,2 a 78 (média de 30, desvio padrão de 16,06) anos, correspondentes a pacientes do sexo masculino em 185 (62%) episódios e feminino em 115 (38%). Procedeu-se a análise univariada (testes de qui quadrado e exato de Fischer, análise de variância) para se identificar variáveis cujas distribuições diferissem quanto a mortalidade, para em seguida realizar a análise multivariada com o emprego de regressão logística, a fim de estimar a probabilidade de óbito. Para isso, foi desenvolvido um modelo estatístico e aplicado a casuística e, a casos hipotéticos, para o estudo conceitual. Não houve diferença de distribuição significativa quanto a mortalidade em relação a idade, sexo, tempo decorrido entre o início dos sintomas e a hospitalização, presença de antecedente de manipulação possível de induzir a bacteriemia, informação de lesão cutânea na história clínica, uso prévio de antimicrobiano, presença de petéquias, esplenomegalia, dimensão da área cardíaca na radiografia de tórax, presença de vegetação no ecocardiograma, duração da antibioticoterapia pre-operatória, portadores de aneurisma micótico, embolia arterial sistêmica, infecção em câmaras cardíacas direitas em relação à infecção de câmaras cardíacas esquerdas, infecção em prótese valvar antes ou depois de quatro meses de seu implante, infecção em prótese aórtica em relação à infecção de prótese mitral, prótese única em relação à dupla prótese, velocidade de eritrossedimentação, taxa de hemoglobina no sangue, taxas de gamaglobulina e creatinina séricas. Houve diferença significativa quanto à mortalidade considerando-se o estado cardíaco anterior à EI, a localização da EI, os agentes etiológicos, a alteração no exame do fundo de olho, o número de complicações, a taxa de mucoproteína e albumina séricas e a taxa de leucócitos do sangue, os portadores de infecção em prótese valvar em relação à infecção em estrutura natural. Na análise multivariada foram empregados o estado cardíaco anterior à EI (portadores de valvopatia, de prótese valvar cardíaca, de cardiopatias congênitas, e pacientes sem evidência de cardiopatia prévia), o agente etiológico [estreptococos, Staphylococcus aureus, outras bactérias (incluindo-se as bactérias gram-negativas, gram-positivas excetuando-se os estreptococos e os estafilococos, e os Staphylococcus epidermis) e os portadores de EI com hemoculturas negativas], a presença ou ausência de complicações e as taxas de leucócitos do sangue, de mucoproteína e de albumina séricas. O modelo estatístico desenvolvido, que incorporou informações do estado cardíaco anterior à EI, do agente etiológico, das complicações e da taxa de leucócitos do sangue, era aplicável a 229 episódios e permitiu prever adequadamente 158 entre 173 evoluções de pacientes que receberam alta hospitalar e 27 entre 56 evoluções de enfermos que faleceram; estimar como alta hospitalar 29 pacientes que faleceram e como óbito 15 pacientes que receberam alta hospitalar, classificando corretamente 185 dos 229 episódios. Aplicado a pacientes hipotéticos dos diferentes subgrupos considerados na análise o modelo demonstra, com base em nossa experiência, que a probabilidade de óbito será maior nos portadores de prótese valvar cardíaca, endocardite por microorganismos agrupados como \"outras bactérias\" (bactérias gram-negativas, Staphylococcus epidermidis, e outras bactérias gram positivas excetuando-se estafilococos e estreptococos) e por Staphylococcus aureus, na presença de complicações. À presença de complicações foi a variável que exerceu maior influência na probabilidade de óbito; a sua ausência minimiza sobremaneira essa probabilidade qualquer que seja o estado cardíaco anterior à EI e o agente etiológico. Nossos dados permitem sugerir que considerando de modo simultâneo e conjunto o estado cardíaco anterior à EI, o agente etiológico, a presença ou ausência de complicações e a taxa de leucócitos do sangue contribuem na avaliação prognóstica em portadores de EI. Entre essas variáveis, a participação da presença de complicações e a mais ressaltada. Na ausência de complicações a probabilidade de óbito reduz-se acentuadamente. / In order to assess the probability of death in the course of infective endocarditis we studied 300 episodes involving 288 patients, followed from October 1978 up to August 1986. The ages ranged from 0.2 to 78 (mean 30, standard deviation 16.06) years; 185 (62%) episodes occurred in male patients and 115 (38%) in female patients. As a first step we tested several variables against mortality through univariated analysis (chi square test, Fisher\'s exact test, analysis of variance). The variables showing significant differences in the univariated test were then submitted to multivariate analysis (logistic regression), to develop a statistical model to assess the contribution of each of the selected variable to the probability expression and to identify the probability of death for each patient. There was no significant difference in mortality related to age, sex, time elapsed between onset of symptoms and hospital admission, previous manipulation usually associated with bacteremia, information of cutaneous lesions, previous antimicrobial therapy, petechiae, splenomegaly, cardiac dimensions on chest roentgenogram, vegetations detected on echocardiogram, pre operative antibiotic therapy, presence of my cotic aneurysm, arterial embolism, right sided vs. left sided endocarditis, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, blood hemoglobin, serum gama globulin, serum creatinin, early prosthetic valve infection vs. late prosthetic valve infection, prosthetic aortic valve vs. prosthetic mitral valve, single prosthesis vs. two prosthesis. There was significant difference in mortality related to cardiac status before the endocarditis, etiologic agent, fundoscopic abnormality on indirect ophtalmoscopy, frequency of complications. serum mucoprotein, serum albumin, blood leukocyte count, prosthetic valve endocarditis in relation to native valve endocarditis. The model developed through logistic regression included the cardiac status before the endocarditis (valvular heart disease, congenital heart disease, prosthetic heart valves or no known heart disease}, etiologic agent (streptococci, Staphylococcus aureus, other bacteria, negative blood cultures), presence of complications, blood leukocyte count. The model could be applied to 229 episodes. It detected correctly the evolution in 185 of 229 episodes, and identified 158 in 173 patients discharged from the hospital as well as 27 in 56 patients who died. There was also prevision for hospital discharge in 29 patients who died and for death in 15 patients discharged from the hospital. The probability of death is higher in patients with prosthetic heart valve, when the etiologic agent is the Staphylococcus aureus and the group of gram negative bacteria, gram positive bacteria other than streptococci and staphylococci and Staphylococcus epidermis, in the presence of complications. In conclusion, the informations provided by cardiac status before the endocarditis, etiologic agent, presence or absence of complications and blood leukocyte count may be useful in the assessment of the outcome of patients with infective endocarditis.

Ziel der Studie war es zu analysieren, inwiefern eine Operation bei Patienten mit einer infektiösen Endokarditis der linksseitigen Nativklappen und keiner weiteren Operationsindikation als einer Vegetationsgröße ≥10mm, das Auftreten von systemischen Embolien, erneuten Endokarditiden und das Langzeitüberleben beeinflussen. Dafür wurden alle Patienten, die zwischen Januar 2000 und Juni 2012 in der Klinik für Kardiologie des Herzzentrums Leipzig mit einer Linksherzendokarditis der Nativklappen und einer Vegetationsgröße ≥10mm behandelt wurden, in ein Register aufgenommen. Alle Patienten mit anderen Operationsindikationen als ihrer Vegetationsgröße wurden ausgeschlossen. Es wurde eine Langzeitkontrolle hinsichtlich definierter klinischer Ereignisse durchgeführt. 71 Patienten wurden in die Studie eingeschlossen. Die mittlere Vegetationsgrößebetrug 17±5mm. 59 Patienten wurden nach einer mittleren Zeit von 5±6 Tagen nach Beginn der Antibiotikatherapie operiert. Die übrigen 12 wurden rein konservativ behandelt. Das mittlere Follow-up erfolgte nach 6,0±2,9 Jahren. Eine chirurgische Behandlungsstrategie war im Vergleich zu rein medikamentöser Therapie mit einer signifikanten Erhöhung der Langzeitmortalität verbunden (p=0,03, Log-rank-Test; unadjustierte Analyse). In einem multivariaten Cox-Regressionsmodell zeigten chirurgische Behandlung, Beteiligung der Mitralklappe, Staphylokokkus aureus-positive Blutkulturen und steigendes Alter einen Trend als unabhängige Beeinflussungsfaktoren der Langzeitmortalität. Ein signifikanter Unterschied zwischen den beiden Gruppen hinsichtlich symptomatischer systemischer Embolien nach Therapiebeginn und Zahl erneuter Endokarditiden bestand nicht. Daher scheint eine operative Behandlung von Patienten mit einer infektiösen Linksherzendokarditis der Nativklappen und großen Vegetationen ohne weitere Operationsindikationen, wie sie aktuell von europäischen und amerikanischen Leitlinien empfohlen wird, möglicherweise mit einer höheren Mortalität verbunden zu sein. Eine kontrollierte randomisierte Studie zur Gegenüberstellung von operativer und konservativer Behandlung dieser Subgruppe von Endokarditispatienten ist deshalb erstrebenswert.