Contemporary Trends and Outcomes of Prosthetic Valve Infective Endocarditis in the United States: Insights from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample

Combination Therapy Is Not Associated with Decreased Mortality in Infectious Endocarditis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Untreated infective endocarditis (IE) is uniformly fatal. The practice of combination antibiotic therapy for IE is recommended by treatment guidelines but largely unsupported by high-quality evidence. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of combination antibiotic therapy compared to monotherapy in IE through a systematic review and meta-analysis. We systematically searched MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane, Web of Science, and CINAHL from inception to 29 July 2024. Studies reporting mortality outcomes of combination therapy versus monotherapy in adult patients with IE were included. Non-English papers and studies with less than 10 patients in the combination therapy group were excluded. Two reviewers independently assessed the studies and extracted relevant data. Summaries of odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were evaluated using random-effects models. Out of 4545 studies identified, 32 studies (involving 2761 patients) met the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. There was no significant difference in the risk of all-cause mortality between the monotherapy and combination therapy groups (OR = 0.90; 95% CI = 0.67-1.20). Similar results were observed in subgroup analyses based on mortality time points, bacterial species, publication date, and type of study. Studies conducted in Europe reported a statistically significant decrease in overall mortality risk with combination therapy (OR = 0.67; 95% CI = 0.51-0.89), though this result was driven entirely by a single outlier study. Combination antibiotic therapy in patients with IE was not associated with reduced mortality.

Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis: A Retrospective Cohort Study Conducted at "Dr. Carol Davila" Central Military Emergency University Hospital in Bucharest

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate patients with prosthetic valves who developed infective endocarditis by comparing treatment outcomes in both early- and late-onset IE episodes following prosthetic valve replacement surgery. This study sought to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the efficacy of these methodologies. The insights derived from this assessment can be utilized to enhance the quality of care for individuals with infective endocarditis who have undergone prosthetic valve replacement surgery.

RESULTS

During the period of investigation (January 2017-December 2022), 78 patients diagnosed with infective endocarditis (IE) on a prosthetic valve were admitted to the Infectious Diseases Department of the "Dr. Carol Davila" Central Military Emergency University Hospital in Bucharest. In 28 patients (35.8%), the onset of PVE occurred within 12 months of surgery (early onset), whereas in 50 patients (64.2%), the onset occurred more than 12 months after surgery (late onset). The mortality rate was 35.9% (53.6% among the early onset patients and 26% among the late-onset patients). Among patients who received surgical and medical therapy, the mortality rate was 29.6%, whereas among those who received only medical therapy, a 39.2% mortality rate was reported. According to the extracted data, antibiotic therapy was successful in 72.6% of the patients. In contrast, a combination of surgical and drug-based approaches resulted in a cure in 76.1% of patients. The most common etiological agent was Staphylococcus aureus (38.5%), followed by Enterococcus faecalis (26.9%) and Streptococcus mitis (10.3%). The mortality rate of patients infected with S. aureus was 29.2%, indicating the severity of this infectious agent.

CONCLUSIONS

Prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) is a serious condition associated with a high mortality rate both in the short and long term. Regardless of the therapy used, the risk of death remains high.

Clinical presentation, microbiology, and prognostic factors of prosthetic valve endocarditis. Lessons learned from a large prospective registry

BACKGROUND

Prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) is a serious infection associated with high mortality that often requires surgical treatment.

METHODS

Study on clinical characteristics and prognosis of a large contemporary prospective cohort of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) that included patients diagnosed between January 2008 and December 2020. Univariate and multivariate analysis of factors associated with in-hospital mortality was performed.

RESULTS

The study included 1354 cases of PVE. The median age was 71 years with an interquartile range of 62-77 years and 66.9% of the cases were male. Patients diagnosed during the first year after valve implantation (early onset) were characterized by a higher proportion of cases due to coagulase-negative staphylococci and Candida and more perivalvular complications than patients detected after the first year (late onset). In-hospital mortality of PVE in this series was 32.6%; specifically, it was 35.4% in the period 2008-2013 and 29.9% in 2014-2020 (p = 0.031). Variables associated with in-hospital mortality were: Age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (OR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.08-1.23), intracardiac abscess (OR:1.78, 95% CI:1.30-2.44), acute heart failure related to PVE (OR: 3. 11, 95% CI: 2.31-4.19), acute renal failure (OR: 3.11, 95% CI:1.14-2.09), septic shock (OR: 5.56, 95% CI:3.55-8.71), persistent bacteremia (OR: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.21-2.83) and surgery indicated but not performed (OR: 2.08, 95% CI: 1.49-2.89). In-hospital mortality in patients with surgical indication according to guidelines was 31.3% in operated patients and 51.3% in non-operated patients (p<0.001). In the latter group, there were more cases of advanced age, comorbidity, hospital acquired PVE, PVE due to Staphylococcus aureus, septic shock, and stroke.

CONCLUSIONS

Not performing cardiac surgery in patients with PVE and surgical indication, according to guidelines, has a significant negative effect on in-hospital mortality. Strategies to better discriminate patients who can benefit most from surgery would be desirable.

Long-Term Outcome of Mechanical and Biological Prostheses in Patients with Left-Side Infective Endocarditis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background. Long-term outcomes of patients with infective endocarditis (IE) who received either a mechanical (MP) or biological prosthesis (BP) are conflicting. A meta-analysis of observational studies comparing the long-term outcomes of left-side IE with the use of MP versus BP was performed. Methods. Electronic databases from January 2000 to June 2021 were screened. Studies reporting long-term mortality were analyzed. The primary endpoint was long-term overall mortality. Secondary endpoints were in-hospital/.30-day mortality and freedom from both prosthesis reinfection and reintervention. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated for survival according to the random effect model. Results. Thirteen retrospective observational studies reporting on 8645 patients (MP: 4688; BP: 4137) were included for comparison. Twelve studies reported data of long-term survival for a total of 8285 patients (MP: 4517; BP: 3768). The pooled analysis revealed that the use of MP was statistically associated with longer benefits compared to BP (HR 0.74; 95% CI 0.63–0.86; p < 0.0001). The median follow-up time ranged from 1 to 15.3 years. The pooled analysis of five studies reporting data on prosthesis reinfection in 4491 patients (MP: 2433; BP: 2058) did not reveal significant differences (HR 0.60; 95% CI 0.30–1.21; p = 0.15). Five studies reported data on prosthesis reintervention in 4401 patients (MP: 2307; BP: 2094). The meta-analysis revealed a significant difference in favor of MP (HR 0.40; 95% CI 0.29–0.55; p < 0.0001). Meta-regression reported no effect of male gender (p = 0.09) and age (p = 0.77) on long-term survival. Conclusions. In a meta-analysis of retrospective observational studies comparing the long-term outcome of patients who underwent surgery for left-sided IE, the use of MP compared to BP is associated with a significant longer-term survival and with a reduced incidence of late reoperation. The incidence of late reinfection is comparable between the two prostheses.