Preprocedure prophylaxis against endocarditis among United States pediatric cardiologists

Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Infective Endocarditis: A Survey of Practice Among Pediatric Cardiology Providers

The 2007 American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines limited antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) for infective endocarditis (IE) to fewer patients with predisposing cardiac conditions (PCC). We surveyed the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery (AAP SOCCS) on their recommendations for AP for a number of PCC and procedures. We report on those 173 respondents who follow the 2007 AHA guidelines. AP rates for high-risk PCCs clearly meeting AHA criteria ranged from 70.5-89.8%. Conversely, for PCCs which did not meet AHA criteria, prescribing rates varied from <1% to 29.5%. PCC for which AP indication was unclear per guidelines, AP rates similarly varied from 9.9-39.8%. Similar variability is noted in AP for various procedures in setting of high-risk PCC. There is variability in AP prescribing practices among pediatric cardiologists based on both underlying PCC and noncardiac procedures in the setting of underlying cardiac disease.

Bicuspid Aortic Valve in Children and Adolescents: A Comprehensive Review

Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is the most common congenital heart defect. Prevalence of isolated BAV in the general pediatric population is about 0.8%, but it has been reported to be as high as 85% in patients with aortic coarctation. A genetic basis has been recognized, with great heterogeneity. Standard BAV terminology, recently proposed on the basis of morpho-functional assessment by transthoracic echocardiography, may be applied also to the pediatric population. Apart from neonatal stenotic BAV, progression of valve dysfunction and/or of the associated aortic dilation seems to be slow during pediatric age and complications are reported to be much rarer in comparison with adults. When required, because of severe BAV dysfunction, surgery is most often the therapeutic choice; however, the ideal initial approach to treat severe aortic stenosis in children or adolescents is not completely defined yet, and a percutaneous approach may be considered in selected cases as a palliative option in order to postpone surgery. A comprehensive and tailored evaluation is needed to define the right intervals for cardiologic evaluation, indications for sport activity and the right timing for intervention.

Endocarditis prophylaxis in daily practice of pediatricians and dentists in Flanders

Endocarditis is a potentially life-threatening disease in children with congenital heart disease (CHD) and correct prophylaxis (EP) is of utmost importance. We conducted two surveys among pediatricians and dentists in Flanders about their knowledge of EP guidelines. The survey was completed by 910 dentists and 100 pediatricians. Sixty-five percent of the dentists did not know any guideline. They relied for information on the internet or the child's physician. 87% identified low risk treatments correctly, but only 64% identified high risk procedures correctly. Eighty-three percent asked for the presence of CHD and allergy to antibiotics. Dentists asked advice of the patient's physician, but 29% would withhold treatments in high-risk patients and 50% did not know the pediatric antibiotic dosages. Forty-seven percent of the pediatricians did not know EP guidelines and they would preferably contact the child's cardiologist. Pediatricians had difficulties with the identification of low-risk procedures and would give unnecessary antibiotics. They identified most CHD at high risk, but scored lower for the identification of lower risk CHD.Conclusion: The knowledge of Flemish dentists and pediatricians of EP guidelines is low. The knowledge about EP guidelines and the communication between dentists and pediatricians should be improved. Patients should be provided with an individual EP card. What is Known: • The knowledge of dentists and cardiologists about EP is not perfect, which has already been described. • There are several guidelines about EP, and they are not identical and sometimes confusing. What is New: • This is the first article combining large scale surveys of the knowledge and application of EP by dentists and pediatricians, allowing us to compare knowledge and gaps of knowledge and use their complementarity in order to offer tailored solutions and use patient education and partnership.

Physicians’ knowledge and practice attitudes toward infective endocarditis antibiotic prophylaxis guidelines in Saudi Arabia

Objectives

To assess the physicians’ knowledge and practice attitudes toward the infective endocarditis antibiotics prophylaxis guidelines in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, to determine whether there is knowledge-to-practice discrepancy.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was performed using a self-administered questionnaire. A questionnaire was distributed among physicians dealing with congenital heart disease patients in Saudi Arabia, from January 7, 2016 to August 30, 2016. The questionnaire designed to calculate three scores: a knowledge score, a practice score, and a knowledge-to-practice discrepancy score. A t test was used for a mean comparison between the three scores and a Pearson correlation coefficient for correlation.

Results

A total of 121 physicians completed the survey. The respondents were predominantly pediatric cardiologists (84%). The mean knowledge score for infective endocarditis prophylaxis in various cardiac lesions was 8.6 ± 3.2 SD out of 14, and the mean practice score was 7.6 ± 3 SD out of 14. The mean discrepancy score was 1.1 ± 3 SD. There was a positive significant correlation between knowledge and discrepancy scores, r = 0.533, n = 121, p = 0.001, using Pearson correlation analysis. Almost 39% of our population had a discrepancy score of +1 or more.

Conclusions

The knowledge about antibiotics prophylaxis of infective endocarditis in various cardiac lesions was less than optimal. Even in the presence of knowledge, there is a practice-to-knowledge discrepancy, with an overprescribing attitude for low-risk cardiac lesions that correlates significantly with more knowledgeable physicians. We recommend that physicians be up-to-date and follow the most recent guidelines.

The Impact of Infective Endocarditis Prophylaxis Recommendations on the Practices of Pediatric and Adult Congenital Cardiologists

BACKGROUND

Compliance with the April 2007 American Heart Association (AHA) infective endocarditis (IE) guidelines is not well described. We sought to evaluate the impact of these guidelines on the clinical practices of pediatric and adult congenital cardiologists.

METHODS

We conducted a 2-centre retrospective cohort study, including patients who had at least 1 outpatient cardiology visit after April 1, 2008 and had 1 of 11 prespecified high- or low-risk congenital cardiac lesions. High-risk lesions required prophylaxis per the AHA guidelines; low-risk patients no longer required prophylaxis. Cardiology clinic letters were reviewed to determine if antibiotic prophylaxis and oral hygiene were addressed and whether prophylaxis was recommended. Comparisons were made before April 2007 vs at least 1 year after guideline publication.

RESULTS

We included 238 high-risk and 201 low-risk patients. IE prophylaxis was recommended for all study patients before April 2007. After April 2008, IE prophylaxis recommendations were reduced by 44.9% for low-risk patients (P < 0.0001) and 9.3% for high-risk patients (P = 0.0156). IE prophylaxis recommendations were documented in the medical record of 92% of patients (95% confidence interval, 88%-95%) before April 2007 vs 81% (77%-84%) after April 2008. Oral hygiene was emphasized for only 44% and 28% of patients before and after guideline revision (P = 0.0005).

CONCLUSIONS

The 2007 AHA guidelines resulted in significantly fewer recommendations for IE prophylaxis in low-risk patients. However, cardiologists continue to recommend prophylaxis for some low-risk patients and advise some high-risk patients against prophylaxis. These findings suggest disagreement or uncertainty within the cardiology community regarding current IE guidelines.