A New Face of Cardiac Emergencies: Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Related Cardiac Disease

Impact of Opioid Epidemic on Infective Endocarditis Outcomes in the United States: From the National Readmission Database

Infective endocarditis (IE) is associated with marked morbidity and mortality in the United States and parallels the opioid pandemic. Few studies explore this interaction and its effect on clinical outcomes. We analyzed contemporary patients admitted with IE to determine predictors of readmission in the United States. The 2017 National Readmission Database was used to identify index admissions in adults with the diagnosis of IE, based on the International Classification of Disease, 10th Revision codes. The primary outcome of interest was 30-day readmission. Secondary outcomes were mortality, hospital charges, and predictors of hospitalization readmission. Of 40,413 index admissions for IE, 5,558 patients (13.8%) were readmitted within 30 days. Patients who were readmitted were younger (55 ± 20 vs 61 ± 19 years, p <0.001) and more likely to have end-stage renal disease (12.2% vs 10.5%, p <0.001), hepatitis C virus (19.4% vs 12.6%, p <0.001), HIV (1.8% vs 1.2%, p = 0.001), opioid abuse (23.9% vs 15%, p <0.001), cocaine use (7.3% vs 4.4%, p <0.001), and other substance abuse (8.5 vs 5.6, p <0.001). Patients readmitted were less likely to have diabetes mellitus (27.8% vs 29.4%, p = 0.01), hypertension (56.9% vs 64%, p <0.001), heart failure (37.7% vs 40%, p <0.001), chronic kidney disease (31.2% vs 32%, p <0.001), and peripheral vascular disease (3.6% vs 4.6%, p = 0.001). The median cost of index admission for the total cohort was $84,325 (39,922 to 190,492). After adjusting for age, diabetes mellitus, heart failure, hypertension, and end-stage renal disease, opioid abuse (odds ratio [OR] 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.23 to 1.46; p <0.001), cocaine use (OR 1.32; 95% CI 1.17 to 1.48; p <0.001), other substance abuse (OR 1.16; 95% CI 1.04 to 1.30; p = 0.008), and hepatitis C virus (OR 1.32; 95% CI 1.21 to 1.43; p <0.001) correlated with higher odds of 30-day readmission. These factors may present targets for future intervention.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection-Associated Cardiomyopathy and Heart Failure

The landscape of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemiology and treatment is ever-changing, with the widespread and evolving use of antiretroviral therapy (ART). With timely ART, people living with HIV (PLWH) are nearing the life expectancies and the functionality of the general population; nevertheless, the effects of HIV and ART on cardiovascular health remain under investigation. The pathophysiology of HIV-related cardiomyopathy and heart failure (HF) have historically been attributed to systemic inflammation and changes in cardiometabolic function and cardiovascular architecture. Importantly, newer evidence suggests that ART also plays a role in modulating the process of HIV-related cardiomyopathy and HF. In the short term, newer highly active ART (HAART) seems to have cardioprotective effects; however, emerging data on the long-term cardiovascular outcomes of certain HAART medications, i.e., protease inhibitors, raise concerns about the potential adverse effects of these drugs in the clinical course of HIV-related HF. As such, the traditional phenotypes of dilated cardiomyopathy and left ventricular systolic failure that are associated with HIV-related heart disease are incrementally being replaced with increasing rates of diastolic dysfunction and ischemic heart disease. Moreover, recent studies have found important links between HIV-related HF and other clinical and biochemical entities, including depression, which further complicate cardiac care for PLWH. Considering these trends in the era of ART, the traditional paradigms of HIV-related cardiomyopathy and HF are being called into question, as is the therapeutic role of interventions such as ventricular assist devices and heart transplantation. In all, the mechanisms of HIV-related myocardial damage and the optimal approaches to the prevention and the treatment of cardiomyopathy and HF in PLWH remain under investigation.

National Temporal Trend Analysis of Infective Endocarditis among Patients Infected with HIV in Spain (1997-2014): A Retrospective Study

BACKGROUND

People living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (PLWH) form a vulnerable population for the onset of infective endocarditis (IE). We aimed to analyze the epidemiological trend of IE, as well as its microbiological characteristics, in PLWH during the combined antiretroviral therapy era in Spain.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective study (1997-2014) in PLWH with data obtained from the Spanish Minimum Basic Data Set. We selected 1800 hospital admissions with an IE diagnosis, which corresponded to 1439 patients.

RESULTS

We found significant downward trends in the periods 1997-1999 and 2008-2014 in the rate of hospital admissions with an IE diagnosis (from 21.8 to 3.8 events per 10,000 patients/year; p < 0.001), IE incidence (from 18.2 to 2.9 events per 10,000 patients/year; p < 0.001), and IE mortality (from 23.9 to 5.5 deaths per 100,000 patient-years; p < 0.001). The most frequent microorganisms involved were staphylococci (50%; 42.7% Staphylococcus aureus and 7.3% coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS)), followed by streptococci (9.3%), Gram-negative bacilli (8.3%), enterococci (3%), and fungus (1.4%). During the study period, we found a downward trend in the rates of CoNS (p < 0.001) and an upward trends in streptococci (p = 0.001), Gram-negative bacilli (p < 0.001), enterococci (p = 0.003), and fungus (p < 0.001) related to IE, mainly in 2008-2014. The rate of community-acquired IE showed a significant upward trend (p = 0.001), while the rate of health care-associated IE showed a significant downward trend (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The rates of hospital admissions, incidence, and mortality related to IE diagnosis in PLWH in Spain decreased from 1997 to 2014, while other changes in clinical characteristics, mode of acquisition, and pathogens occurred over this time.