Internal and external validation of a model to predict adverse outcomes in patients with left-sided infective endocarditis

Perioperative risk stratification scores in infective endocarditis and its usefulness

Infective endocarditis continues to represent a serious disease worldwide with high morbidity and mortality rates despite advances in diagnosis and treatment. Risk assessment plays a pivotal role in determining the appropriate course of treatment for patients diagnosed with infective endocarditis. In this context, specific endocarditis risk scores have been developed trying to help in the risk assessment process. During the last 15 years, 19 specific endocarditis scores have been published. These newly created scores are very heterogenous in their characteristics, factors included, and validation strategies. The purpose of this review is to analyze the published specific infective endocarditis risk scores and discuss their advantages, limitations, and usefulness.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12055-023-01644-y.

Infective endocarditis: Do we have an effective risk score model? A systematic review

Background

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a rare, highly morbid condition with 17% in-hospital mortality. A total of 25-30% require surgery and there is ongoing debate with regard to markers predicting patient outcomes and guiding intervention. This systematic review aims to evaluate all IE risk scores currently available.

Methods

Standard methodology (PRISMA guideline) was used. Papers with risk score analysis for IE patients were included, with attention to studies reporting area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC/ROC). Qualitative analysis was carried out, including assessment of validation processes and comparison of these results to original derivation cohorts where available. Risk-of-bias analysis illustrated according to PROBAST guidelines.

Results

Of 75 articles initially identified, 32 papers were analyzed for a total of 20 proposed scores (range 66-13,000 patients), 14 of which were specific for IE. The number of variables per score ranged from 3 to 14 with only 50% including microbiological variables and 15% including biomarkers. The following scores had good performance (AUC > 0.8) in studies proposing the score (often the derivation cohort); however fared poorly when applied to a new cohort: PALSUSE, DeFeo, ANCLA, RISK-E, EndoSCORE, MELD-XI, COSTA, and SHARPEN. DeFeo score demonstrated the largest discrepancy with initial AUC of 0.88, compared to 0.58 when applied to different cohorts. The inflammatory response in IE has been well documented and CRP has been found to be an independent predictor for worse outcomes. There is ongoing investigation on alternate inflammatory biomarkers which may assist in IE management. Of the scores identified in this review, only three have included a biomarker as a predictor.

Conclusion

Despite the variety of available scores, their development has been limited by small sample size, retrospective collection of data and short-term outcomes, with lack of external validation, limiting their transportability. Future population studies and large comprehensive registries are required to address this unmet clinical need.

Contemporary risk models for infective endocarditis surgery: a narrative review

Infective endocarditis is a complex heterogeneous condition involving the infection of the endocardium and heart valves, leading to severe complications, including death. Surgery is often indicated in patients with infective endocarditis but is associated with elevated risk compared with other forms of cardiac surgery. Risk models play an important role in many cardiac surgeries as they can help inform clinicians and patients regarding procedural risk, decision-making to proceed or not, and influence perioperative management; however, they remain under-utilized in the infective endocarditis settings. Another crucial role of such risk models is to assess predicted versus found mortality, thereby allowing an assessment of institutional performance in infective endocarditis surgery. Traditionally, general cardiac surgery risk models such as European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE), EuroSCORE II, and Society of Thoracic Surgeon's score have been applied to endocarditis surgery. However, there has been the development of many endocarditis surgery-specific scores over the last decade. This review aims to discuss clinical characteristics and applications of all contemporary risk scores in the setting of surgical treatment of infective endocarditis.

Prognostic assessment of valvular surgery in active infective endocarditis: multicentric nationwide validation of a new score developed from a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES

Several risk prediction models have been developed to estimate the risk of mortality after valve surgery for active infective endocarditis (IE), but few external validations have been conducted to assess their accuracy. We previously developed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of IE-specific factors for the in-hospital mortality rate after IE valve surgery, whose obtained pooled estimations were the basis for the development of a new score (APORTEI). The aim of the present study was to assess its prognostic accuracy in a nationwide cohort.

METHODS

We analysed the prognostic utility of the APORTEI score using patient-level data from a multicentric national cohort. Patients who underwent surgery for active IE between 2008 and 2018 were included. Discrimination was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, and the calibration was assessed using the calibration slope and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test. Agreement between the APORTEI and the EuroSCORE I was also analysed by Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (CCC), the Bland-Altman agreement analysis and a scatterplot graph.

RESULTS

The 11 variables that comprised the APORTEI score were analysed in the sample. The APORTEI score was calculated in 1338 patients. The overall observed surgical mortality rate was 25.56%. The score demonstrated adequate discrimination (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.75; 95% confidence interval 0.72-0.77) and calibration (calibration slope = 1.03; Hosmer-Lemeshow test P = 0.389). We found a lack of agreement between the APORTEI and EuroSCORE I (concordance correlation coefficient = 0.55).

CONCLUSIONS

The APORTEI score, developed from a systematic review and meta-analysis, showed an adequate estimation of the risk of mortality after IE valve surgery in a nationwide cohort.

Patients with infective endocarditis and history of injection drug use in a Swedish referral hospital during 10 years

Background

Patients with injection drug use (IDU) have increased risk of developing infective endocarditis (IE). Previous studies have reported recurrent IE, increased duration of hospital stay, poor adherence and compliance as well as higher mortality and worse outcomes after surgery in the IDU-IE patient group. Further studies are needed to provide a basis for optimized care and prevention of readmissions in this population. This study aims to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes among patients with IDU-IE.

Methods

Data of adults with IDU-IE and non-IDU-IE, treated between 2008 and 2017 at the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm were obtained from the Swedish National Registry of Infective Endocarditis. Clinical characteristics, microbiological results, treatment durations, results from echocardiography and in-hospital mortality were compared between the groups.

Results

Of the total 522 patients, 165 (32%) had IDU-IE. Patients with IDU-IE were younger than the patients with non-IDU-IE (mean age IDU-IE: 41.6 years, SD 11.9 years; non-IDU-IE: 64.3 years, SD 16.4 years; P <  0.01). No difference in distribution of gender was observed, 33% were females in both the IDU-IE and the non-IDU-IE group. History of previous IE (IDU-IE: n = 49, 30%; non-IDU-IE: n = 34, 10%; P <  0.01) and vascular phenomena (IDU-IE: n = 101, 61%; non-IDU-IE: n = 120, 34%; P <  0.01) were more common among patients with IDU-IE while prosthetic heart valves (IDU-IE: n = 12, 7%; non-IDU-IE: n = 83, 23%; P <  0.01) and known valvular disease (IDU-IE: n = 3, 2%; non-IDU-IE: n = 78, 22%; P <  0.01) were more common among patients with non-IDU-IE. Aetiology of Staphylococcus aureus (IDU-IE: n = 123, 75%; non-IDU-IE: n = 118, 33%; P <  0.01) as well as tricuspid (IDU-IE: n = 91, 55%; non-IDU-IE: n = 23, 6%; P <  0.01) or pulmonary valve vegetations (IDU-IE: n = 7, 4%; non-IDU-IE: n = 2, 1%; P <  0.01) were more common in the IDU-IE group. The overall incidence of IDU-IE decreased during the study period, while the incidence of definite IE increased (P <  0.01).

Conclusions

This study presents that patients with IDU-IE were younger, less frequently treated with surgery and had higher prevalence of vascular phenomena and history of previous IE, aspects that are important for improved management of this population.

Warfarin maintenance dose Prediction for Patients undergoing heart valve replacement- a hybrid model with genetic algorithm and Back-Propagation neural network

Warfarin is the most recommended anticoagulant drug for patients undergoing heart valve replacement. However, due to the narrow therapeutic window and individual dose, the use of warfarin needs more advanced technology. We used the data collected from a multi-central registered clinical system all over China about the patients who have undergone heart valve replacement, subsequently divided into three groups (training group: 10673 cases; internal validation group: 3558 cases; external validation group: 1463 cases) in order to construct a hybrid model with genetic algorithm and Back-Propagation neural network (BP-GA), For testing the model's prediction accuracy, we used Mean absolute error (MAE), Root mean squared error (RMSE) and the ideal predicted percentage of total and dose subgroups. In results, whether in internal or in external validation group, the total ideal predicted percentage was over 58% while the intermediate dose subgroup manifested the best. Moreover, it showed higher prediction accuracy, lower MAE value and lower RMSE value in the external validation group than that in the internal validation group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, BP-GA model is promising to predict warfarin maintenance dose.

A pragmatic approach for mortality prediction after surgery in infective endocarditis: optimizing and refining EuroSCORE

OBJECTIVE

To simplify and optimize the ability of EuroSCORE I and II to predict early mortality after surgery for infective endocarditis (IE).

METHODS

Multicentre retrospective study (n = 775). Simplified scores, eliminating irrelevant variables, and new specific scores, adding specific IE variables, were created. The performance of the original, recalibrated and specific EuroSCOREs was assessed by Brier score, C-statistic and calibration plot in bootstrap samples. The Net Reclassification Index was quantified.

RESULTS

Recalibrated scores including age, previous cardiac surgery, critical preoperative state, New York Heart Association >I, and emergent surgery (EuroSCORE I and II); renal failure and pulmonary hypertension (EuroSCORE I); and urgent surgery (EuroSCORE II) performed better than the original EuroSCOREs (Brier original and recalibrated: EuroSCORE I: 0.1770 and 0.1667; EuroSCORE II: 0.2307 and 0.1680). Performance improved with the addition of fistula, staphylococci and mitral location (EuroSCORE I and II) (Brier specific: EuroSCORE I 0.1587, EuroSCORE II 0.1592). Discrimination improved in specific models (C-statistic original, recalibrated and specific: EuroSCORE I: 0.7340, 0.7471 and 0.7728; EuroSCORE II: 0.7442, 0.7423 and 0.7700). Calibration improved in both EuroSCORE I models (intercept 0.295, slope 0.829 (original); intercept -0.094, slope 0.888 (recalibrated); intercept -0.059, slope 0.925 (specific)) but only in specific EuroSCORE II model (intercept 2.554, slope 1.114 (original); intercept -0.260, slope 0.703 (recalibrated); intercept -0.053, slope 0.930 (specific)). Net Reclassification Index was 5.1% and 20.3% for the specific EuroSCORE I and II.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of simplified EuroSCORE I and EuroSCORE II models in IE with the addition of specific variables may lead to simpler and more accurate models.

The changing epidemiology and clinical features of infective endocarditis: A retrospective study of 196 episodes in a teaching hospital in China

Background

Infective endocarditis is an uncommon but life-threatening infectious disease. To our knowledge, current investigations of the characteristics of infective endocarditis in our region are scarce. In this study, we aimed to investigate the changes in the epidemiology and clinical features of infective endocarditis.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of clinical data was performed using 196 infective endocarditis cases diagnosed between June 2004 and December 2012 at The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University. A comparative analysis of clinical risk factors was also included.

Results

The mean age of the patient cohort was 43.5 (29.0–55.8) years old. Of the 196 cases studied, 128 cases (65.3%) were left native valve infective endocarditis, 13 cases (6.6%) were left prosthetic valve infective endocarditis, and 47 cases (24%) were right valve infective endocarditis. In addition to natural valve endocarditis, many patients also exhibited various types of cardiopathy: 72 cases (36.7%) had congenital cardiovascular malformations, 37 cases (18.9%) had idiopathic mitral valve prolapse and 31 cases (15.8%) had no significant cardiac disease. The primary clinical manifestations that were observed included 168 cases with fever (85.7%), 131 cases with anemia (66.8%), 114 cases with hematuria (58.2%) and 58 cases with splenomegaly (29.6%). Positive blood cultures were detected in 96 cases (49%); the most commonly detected organism was Streptococcus viridans (41 cases; 42.7%), followed by 18 cases (18.8%) of Staphylococcus aureus and 10 cases (10.4%) of Enterococcus. With respect to risk factors, infection with Staphylococcus aureus or gram-negative bacilli (OR = 18.81, 95%CI = 2.39–148.2), congestive heart failure (OR = 8.854, 95%CI = 1.34–54.7), diabetes (OR = 7.224, 95%CI = 1.17–44.7) and age ≥ 60 years (OR = 6.861, 95%CI = 0.94–50.1) were major prognostic risk factors.

Conclusion

Infective endocarditis is more common than previously believed, but there are regional differences with respect to the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of infective endocarditis, and its etiology is diverse and complicated. Our study of the clinically diagnosed cases of infective endocarditis verified the regional characteristics of infective endocarditis using a straightforward retrospective analysis. The geographic variations we observed in the study will be of important value to clinical diagnosis in our region.

Infective endocarditis in the Pacific: clinical characteristics, treatment and long-term outcomes

Introduction

Data on clinical characteristics and outcomes of infective endocarditis (IE) in the Pacific are scarce.

Methods

Retrospective hospital-based study in New Caledonia, a high-income country, on patients aged over 18 years with definite IE according to the modified Duke criteria (2005–2010).

Results

51 patients were included: 31 (60.8%) men; median age of 52.4 years (IQR 33.0–70.0). Left-sided IE accounted for 47 (92.2%) patients: native valve IE in 34 (66.7%) and prosthetic valve IE in 13 (25.5%). The main underlying heart disease included: rheumatic valve disease in 19 (37.3%), degenerative heart valve disease in 12 (23.5%) and congenital heart disease in 6 (11.8%). Significant comorbidities (Charlson's score >3) were observed in 20 (38.7%) patients. Infection was community acquired in 43 (84.3%) patients. Leading pathogens included Staphylococcus aureus in 16 (31.4%) and Streptococcus spp in 15 (29.4%) patients. Complications were noted in 33 patients (64.7%) and 24 (47.1%) were admitted to the intensive care unit. Cardiac surgery was eventually performed in 22 of 40 (55.0%) patients with a theoretical indication. None underwent emergent cardiac surgery (ie, first 24 h); 2 (3.9%) were operated within 7 days; and 20 (39.2%) beyond 7 days. 11 (21.6%) patients died in hospital and 21 (42.9%) were dead after a median follow-up of 28.8 months (IQR 4.6–51.2). Two (3.9%) were lost to follow-up.

Conclusions

In New Caledonia, IE afflicts relatively young patients with rheumatic heart disease, and carries high complication and mortality rates. Access to heart surgery remains relatively limited in this remote archipelago.

Infective endocarditis: prevention, diagnosis, and management

Infective endocarditis (IE) is among the most severe infectious disease, the prevention of which has not decreased its incidence. The age of patients and the rate of health care-associated IE have increased as a consequence of medical progress. The prevention strategies have been subjected to an important debate and nonspecific hygiene measures are now placed above the use of antibiotic prophylaxis. Indeed, the level of evidence of antibiotic prophylaxis efficiency is low and the indications of its prescription have been restricted in the recent international guidelines. In cases carrying a high suspicion of IE, efforts should be made to rapidly identify patients with a definite or highly probable diagnosis of IE and to find the causative pathogen to ensure that appropriate treatment, including urgent valvular surgery, begins promptly. Although echocardiography remains the main accurate imaging modality to identify endocardial lesions associated with IE, it can be negative or inconclusive especially in cases of prosthetic valve or other intracardiac devices. Recent studies demonstrated the diagnostic value of other imaging strategies including cardiac computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography/CT, radiolabelled leukocyte single-photon emission CT/CT, and cerebral magnetic resonance imaging. Novel perspectives on the management of endocarditis are emerging and offer a hope for decreasing the rate of residual deaths by accelerating the processes of diagnosis, risk stratification, and instauration of antimicrobial therapy. Moreover, the rapid transfer of high-risk patients to specialized mediosurgical centres (IE team), the development of new surgical modalities, and close long-term follow-up are of crucial importance.

Influence of a multidisciplinary alert strategy on mortality due to left-sided infective endocarditis

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

Mortality from left-sided infective endocarditis remains very high. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a multidisciplinary alert strategy (AMULTEI), based on clinical, echocardiographic and microbiological findings, implemented in 2008 in a tertiary hospital.

METHODS

Cohort study comparing our historical data series (1996-2007) with the number of patients diagnosed with left-sided endocarditis from 2008-2011 (AMULTEI).

RESULTS

The AMULTEI cohort included 72 patients who were compared with 155 patients in the historical cohort. AMULTEI patients were significantly older (62.5 vs 57.9 years in the historical cohort; P=.047) and had higher comorbidity (Charlson index, 3.33 vs 2.58 in the historical cohort; P=.023). There was also a trend toward more enterococcal etiology in the AMULTEI group (20.8% vs 11.6% in the historical cohort; P=.067). In the AMULTEI group, early surgery was more frequently performed (48.6% vs 23.2%; P<.001) during hospitalization, the incidence of septic shock was significantly lower (9.7% vs 24.5%; P=.009) and there was a trend toward reductions in neurological complications (19.4% vs 29.0%; P=.25) and severe heart failure (12.5% vs 18.7%; P=.24). In-hospital mortality and mortality during the first month of follow-up were significantly lower in the AMULTEI group (16.7% vs 36.1%; P=.003).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the trend toward older age and more comorbidity measured by the Charlson index, early mortality was significantly lower in patients treated with the AMULTEI strategy.

Long-term outcomes and cardiac surgery in critically ill patients with infective endocarditis

AIMS

To assess long-term outcomes and the management of critical left-sided infective endocarditis (IE) and evaluate the impact of surgery.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Among the 198 patients included prospectively for IE across 33 adult intensive care units (ICU) in France from 1 April 2007 to 1 October 2008, 137 (69%) were dead at a median follow-up time of 59.5 months. Characteristics significantly associated with mortality were: Sepsis-related Organ-Failure Assessment (SOFA) score at ICU admission [Hazard ratio (HR), 95% Confidence Interval (CI) of 1.43 (0.79-2.59) for SOFA 5-9; 2.01 (1.05-3.85) for SOFA 10-14; 3.53 (1.75-7.11) for SOFA 15-20; reference category SOFA 0-4; P = 0.003]; prosthetic mechanical valve IE [HR 2.01; 95% CI 1.09-3.69, P = 0.025]; vegetation size ≥15 mm [HR 1.64; 95% CI 1.03-2.63, P = 0.038]; and cardiac surgery [HR (95%CI), 0.33 (0.16-0.67) for surgery ≤1 day after IE diagnosis; 0.61 (0.29-1.26) for surgery 2-7 days after IE diagnosis; 0.42 (0.21-0.83) for surgery >7 days after IE diagnosis; reference category no surgery; P = 0.005]. One hundred and three (52%) patients underwent cardiac surgery after a median time of 6 (16) days. Independent predictors of surgical intervention on multivariate analysis were: age ≤60 years [Odds ratio (OR) 5.30; 95% CI (2.46-11.41), P < 0.01], heart failure [OR 3.27; 95% CI (1.03-10.35), P = 0.04], cardiogenic shock [OR 3.31; 95% CI (1.47-7.46), P = 0.004], septic shock [OR 0.25; 95% CI (0.11-0.59), P = 0.002], immunosuppression [OR 0.15; 95% CI (0.04-0.55), P = 0.004], and diagnosis before or within 24 h of ICU admission [OR 2.81; 95% CI (1.14-6.95), P = 0.025]. SOFA score calculated the day of surgery was the only independently associated factor with long-term mortality [HR (95% CI) 1.59 (0.77-3.28) for SOFA 5-9; 3.56 (1.71-7.38) for SOFA 10-14; 11.58 (4.02-33.35) for SOFA 15-20; reference category SOFA 0-4; P < 0.0001]. Surgical timing was not associated with post-operative outcomes. Of the 158 patients with a theoretical indication for surgery, the 58 deemed not fit had a 95% mortality rate.

CONCLUSION

Mortality in patients with critical IE remains unacceptably high. Factors associated with long-term outcomes are the severity of multiorgan failure, prosthetic mechanical valve IE, vegetation size ≥15 mm, and surgical treatment. Up to one-third of potential candidates do not undergo surgery and these patients experience extremely high mortality rates. The strongest independent predictor of post-operative mortality is the pre-operative multiorgan failure score while surgical timing does not seem to impact on outcomes.

Epidemiology of infective endocarditis in Spain in the last 20 years

Infective endocarditis is an uncommon disease, with an estimated incidence of 3.1 to 3.7 episodes per 100 000 inhabitants/year. The incidence is highest in elderly people. The microorganisms most frequently isolated in infective endocarditis are staphylococci and streptococci. In the last few decades, the spectrum of heart diseases predisposing to infective endocarditis has changed, since degenerative heart disease is the most common valve disease, and there are an increasing number of infective endocarditis patients without previously known valve disease. In addition, up to one-third of infective endocarditis patients become infected through contact with the health system. These patients are more frail, which leads to higher in-hospital mortality. As a result of substantial epidemiological changes, few cases of infective endocarditis can be prevented by antibiotic prophylaxis. Despite advances in medical and surgical treatment, in-hospital mortality among infective endocarditis patients is high. Nevertheless, there is room for improvement in reducing the rate of nosocomial bacteremia, the prompt diagnosis of infective endocarditis in at-risk patients, and the early identification of patients with a highest risk of complications, as well as in the creation of multidisciplinary teams for the management of this disease.

Immediate and long-term outcome of left-sided infective endocarditis. A 12-year prospective study from a contemporary cohort in a referral hospital

The aim of this study was to describe the immediate and long-term prognosis of a contemporary cohort of patients with left-sided infective endocarditis (LSIE). A prospective observational cohort study was conducted in a referral centre. Between January 2000 and December 2011, all consecutive adult patients with LSIE were followed-up until death, relapse, recurrence, need for late surgery, or last control. During the active phase of IE, 174 of 438 patients underwent surgery (40% overall; 43% native valve (NVIE), 30% prosthetic valve (PVIE)) and 125 died (29% overall; 26% NVIE, 39% PVIE). The median follow-up in survivors was 3.2 years (interquartile range (IQR) 1.0-6.0 years). Relapses occurred in seven patients (2.2%; 95% CI, 1.1-4.5) and recurrences in eight (2.6%; 95% CI, 1.3-5.0), with an incidence density of 0.0067 per patient-year (95% CI, 0.0029-0.0133) and high mortality (75% of recurrences). Only four of 130 survivors (3.1%; 95% CI, 1.2-7.6) who were treated surgically during the active phase of the disease, and 14/183 (7.7%; 95% CI, 4.6-12.4) of those not undergoing surgery needed operation during follow-up (p 0.09). In the 313 survivors, actuarial survival was 86% at 1 year (87% NVIE, 83% PVIE), 79% at 2 years (81% NVIE, 72% PVIE) and 68% at 5 years (71% NVIE, 57% PVIE). At 1 year, 115 of 397 patients (29.0%; 95% CI, 24.7-33.6) remained alive, with no surgery requirement, relapse or recurrence. LSIE is associated with considerable in-hospital and long-term mortality, especially PVIE. However, relapses, recurrences and the need for late surgery are uncommon.

Management of infective endocarditis: challenges and perspectives

Despite improvements in medical and surgical therapies, infective endocarditis is associated with poor prognosis and remains a therapeutic challenge. Many factors affect the outcome of this serious disease, including virulence of the microorganism, characteristics of the patients, presence of underlying disease, delays in diagnosis and treatment, surgical indications, and timing of surgery. We review the strengths and limitations of present therapeutic strategies and propose future directions for better management of endocarditis according to the most recent research. Novel perspectives on the management of endocarditis are emerging and offer hope for decreasing the rate of residual deaths by accelerating the process of diagnosis and risk stratification, reducing delays in starting antimicrobial therapy, rapid transfer of high-risk patients to specialised medico-surgical centres, development of new surgical methods, and close long-term follow-up.

[Infective endocarditis in the XXI century: epidemiological, therapeutic, and prognosis changes]

Infective endocarditis (IE) is an uncommon and severe disease. Nowadays, in developed countries, IE patients are older, usually have a degenerative heart valve disease, and up to 30% acquire this infection within the health care system. In consequence, staphylococci species are the most frequently isolated microorganisms. Antimicrobial treatment for IE has significantly changed over the last decades. In IE episodes due to Staphylococcus aureus, cloxacillin-resistance makes antimicrobial election more difficult. Other microorganisms, such as enterococci and some species of streptococci, show high rates of resistance to antimicrobial agents established in guidelines. Despite improvements in the diagnosis, and medical and surgical treatment of IE, this disease continues to be associated with high rates of in-hospital mortality. At present, due to epidemiological changes, antimicrobial prophylaxis can avoid few cases of IE. Prevention of nosocomial bacteremia, an early diagnosis of IE, prompt identification of IE patients at a higher risk of mortality, and a multidisciplinary approach of this disease could be valid strategies in order to improve the outcome of these patients.