Osteoarticular infection complicating enterococcal endocarditis

Native Infective Endocarditis: A State-of-the-Art-Review

Native valve infective endocarditis (NVE) is a global phenomenon, defined by infection of a native heart valve and involving the endocardial surface. The causes and epidemiology of the disease have evolved in recent decades, with a doubling of the average patient age. A higher incidence was observed in patients with implanted cardiac devices that can result in right-sided infection of the tricuspid valve. The microbiology of the disease has also changed. Previously, staphylococci, which are most often associated with health-care contact and invasive procedures, were the most common cause of the disease. This has now been superseded by streptococci. While innovative diagnostic and therapeutic strategies have emerged, mortality rates have not improved and remain at 30%, which is higher than that for many cancer diagnoses. The lack of randomized trials and logistical constraints impede clinical management, and long-standing controversies such as the use of antibiotic prophylaxis persist. This state of the art review addresses clinical practice, controversies, and strategies to combat this potentially devastating disease. A multidisciplinary team will be established to provide care for patients with presumptive NVE. The composition of the team will include specialists in cardiology, cardiovascular surgery, and infectious disease. The prompt administration of combination antimicrobial therapy is essential for effective NVE treatment. Additionally, a meticulous evaluation of each patient is necessary in order to identify any indications for immediate valve surgery. With the intention of promoting a more comprehensive understanding of the procedural management of native infective endocarditis and to furnish clinicians with a reference, the current evidence for the utilization of distinct strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of NVE are presented.

Incidence and Characteristics of Osteoarticular Infections in Patients With Infective Endocarditis

Osteoarticular infections (OAIs) in the setting of infective endocarditis (IE) are uncommon. Although morbidity and mortality have been widely studied, details of the characteristics of patients with concurrent IE and OAI are limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the (1) incidence, (2) mortality, (3) clinical features, and (4) microbiological profiles of OAIs in the setting of IE. A retrospective review was conducted of 1280 IE cases at a large academic institution between 2009 and 2015. Patients were categorized according to the following OAI types: spondylodiskitis, large joint septic arthritis, other site infections, or multiple affected joints. Inpatient mortality rates, clinical findings, and microbiological characteristics were compared between OAI types. Overall, the incidence of OAI among IE patients was 6.8% (n=87). The in-hospital mortality rate was 9.2% (n=8) and was not significantly associated with OAI type (P=.801). Eighteen patients had multiple affected joints resulting in a total of 114 infected sites. Of these, 39% (n=44) were spondylodiskitis, 29% (n=33) were large joint septic arthritis, and 32% (n=37) were infections of smaller joints. Back pain was most common among patients with spondylodiskitis (P<.001), whereas fever and general fatigue were most common with septic arthritis (P<.001). Of the available bone/ joint cultures, 69% were positive. Overall, Staphylococcus aureus was the most common IE pathogen in patients with both IE and OAI (63%). Clinicians should maintain a high suspicion for OAI in patients with IE caused by Staphylococcus aureus, particularly spondylodiskitis among those presenting with back pain. [Orthopedics 2020; 43(1):24-29.].

Infectious endocarditis and vertebral osteomyelitis caused by Moraxella catarrhalis

Moraxella catarrhalis frequently colonises the oropharynges of healthy individuals. Disease is usually limited to the oropharynx, upper airways and lower airways in patients with predisposing conditions. The pathogen rarely causes more invasive disease. We present the case of a 65-year-old woman with Crohn's disease on azathioprine, who was diagnosed with native valve M. catarrhalis endocarditis and vertebral osteomyelitis several weeks after an upper respiratory tract infection. She presented to hospital with 5 weeks of worsening malaise, nausea, relapsing fevers, weight loss, acute-on-chronic exacerbation of lower back pain and diffuse myalgia. Transoesophageal echocardiogram showed a 12 mm vegetation on her mitral valve, contrast-enhanced MRI was consistent with L4 osteomyelitis and blood cultures were persistently positive for M. catarrhalis She was initially treated with ceftriaxone 2 g intravenously daily, and although her symptoms initially resolved, she experienced a relapse of osteomyelitis with L3 extension a few weeks after treatment discontinuation.

Multifocal Septic Arthritis Secondary to Infective Endocarditis: A Rare Case Report

Introduction:

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a rare cause of septic arthritis. We report a patient who presented with multifocal septic arthritis as a result of IE, which is an extremely rare condition.

Case Report:

This 69-year-old gentleman presented to the emergency department (ED) with a 3-day history of acute right knee pain. Initial investigations demonstrated chondrocalcinosis on knee radiographs, acute renal failure with rhabdomyolysis and a CRP of 520. After treatment with intravenous fluid rehydration and analgesia, the knee aspiration grew a Group B Streptococcus, and the patient underwent arthroscopic washout. 48 h after admission the patient developed left wrist and right elbow pain. Further aspirations revealed Group B Streptococcus and the patient underwent further washouts. A multidisciplinary approach was used. Due to ongoing sepsis, an echocardiogram was performed identifying IE. The patient eventually died due to ongoing sepsis and duodenal ulceration.

Conclusion:

This case highlights the importance of considering a systemic cause such as IE for patients presenting with features of multifocal septic arthritis and ensuring all patients undergo a full medical examination as part of the clerking process. Furthermore, it emphasizes the need to adopt a multi-disciplinary approach when presented with complex patients so that the best medical care can be given to prevent morbidity and mortality.

Rare case of simultaneous enterococcal endocarditis and prosthetic joint infection

A 59-year-old man was admitted with a 3-month history of daily fevers as well as bilateral knee pain and swelling. Medical history was significant for bilateral knee arthroplasties 4 years prior to admission. Two sets of peripheral blood cultures as well as bilateral knee synovial fluid grew Enterococcus faecalis within 10 hours. Transoesophageal echocardiography revealed aortic and mitral valve vegetations suggestive of infectious endocarditis, with severe regurgitation secondary to large size. The patient's hospitalisation was complicated by acute heart failure, necessitating emergent mitral valve repair and aortic valve replacement, followed shortly thereafter by bilateral total knee arthroplasty resection with placement of antibiotic spacers. He was treated with intravenous penicillin and gentamicin for 4 months and recovered fully. He underwent repeat bilateral knee arthroplasties and was placed on amoxicillin for 6 months postoperatively, with no further evidence of infection.

Bilateral Acromioclavicular Septic Arthritis as an Initial Presentation of Streptococcus pneumoniae Endocarditis

Infective endocarditis (IE) is infrequently associated with septic arthritis. Moreover, septic arthritis of the acromioclavicular (AC) joint is rarely reported in the literature. We report a case of Streptococcus pneumoniae IE in a patient who presented with bilateral AC joint septic arthritis and we review the literature on the topic.

Myasthenia, spondylitis and Enterococcus faecalis endocarditis

Parasympathomimetics, immunosuppression and plasmapheresis have considerably improved management and prognosis of myasthenia gravis. Side effects of these measures, however, may complicate the course of the disease. In a 66-year-old male with myasthenia gravis and lower back pain, blood cultures, echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging led to the diagnosis of endocarditis and spondylodiscitis. Enterococcus faecalis grew in the blood cultures as well as on the aortic and tricuspid valve vegetations which were resected during cardiac surgery. Possible sources of the infection might be E. faecalis infections of catheter tips during a 46-day stay in the intensive care unit 11 months earlier where he had undergone plasmapheresis, hemodiafiltration and mechanical ventilation, or recurrent diarrheas since 18 months. Infection was favored by immunosuppression with glucocorticoids and azathioprine which received the patient because of myasthenia gravis and hypothyroidism. Patients with myasthenia gravis require close follow up, including infection parameters, especially when they receive immunosuppressive therapy and when microorganisms known to cause endocarditis, are identified.

Pilot study of ampicillin-ceftriaxone combination for treatment of orthopedic infections due to Enterococcus faecalis

Serious Enterococcus faecalis infections usually require combination therapy to achieve a bactericidal effect. In orthopedic infections, the prognosis of enterococcal etiology is considered poor, and the use of aminoglycosides is questioned. The ampicillin-ceftriaxone combination has recently been accepted as alternative therapy for enterococcal endocarditis. After one of our patients with endocarditis and vertebral osteomyelitis was cured with ampicillin-ceftriaxone, we started a pilot study of orthopedic infections. Patients with infections due to E. faecalis (with two or more surgical samples or blood cultures) diagnosed during 2005 to 2008 were recruited. Polymicrobial infections with ampicillin- and ceftriaxone-resistant microorganisms were excluded. Patients received ampicillin (8 to 16 g/day)-ceftriaxone (2 to 4 g/day) and were followed up prospectively. Of 31 patients with E. faecalis infections, 10 received ampicillin-ceftriaxone. Including the first patient, 11 patients were treated with ampicillin-ceftriaxone: 3 with prosthetic joint infections, 3 with instrumented spine arthrodesis device infections, 2 with osteosynthesis device infections, 1 with foot osteomyelitis, and 2 with vertebral osteomyelitis and endocarditis. Six infections (55%) were polymicrobial. All cases except the vertebral osteomyelitis ones required surgery, with retention of foreign material in six cases. Ampicillin-ceftriaxone was given for 25 days (interquartile range, 15 to 34 days), followed by amoxicillin (amoxicilline) being given to seven patients (64%). One patient with endocarditis died within 2 weeks (hemorrhagic stroke) and was not evaluable. For one patient with prosthesis retention, the infection persisted; 9/10 patients (90%) were cured, but 1 patient was superinfected. Follow-up was for 21 months (interquartile range, 14 to 36 months). Ampicillin-ceftriaxone may be a reasonable synergistic combination to treat orthopedic infections due to E. faecalis. Our experience, though limited, shows good outcomes and tolerability and may provide a basis for further well-designed comparative studies.

[Clinical review: Fever and arthritis. Diagnosis: endocarditis due to enterococcus]

Clinical signs of infective endocarditis are inespecific. Fever and heart murmur are the most frequent symptoms. Arthralgias's association is fairly common but presentation as polyarthritis is inusual. We report a cse of infective endocarditis that begins with subacute fever and polyarthritis.

Enterococcal endocarditis on native and prosthetic valves: a review of clinical and prognostic factors with emphasis on hospital-acquired infections as a major determinant of outcome

Enterococci are the third leading cause of infectious endocarditis, and despite advances in diagnosis and treatment, the mortality of enterococcal endocarditis has not changed in recent decades. Although variables such as advanced age, cardiac failure, and brain emboli have been recognized as risk factors for mortality, cooperative multi-institutional studies have not assessed the role of other variables, such as nosocomial acquisition of infection, the presence of comorbidities, or the changing antimicrobial susceptibility of enterococci, as factors determining prognosis.We conducted the current study to determine the risk factors for mortality in patients with enterococcal endocarditis in a single institution. We reviewed 47 consecutive episodes of enterococcal endocarditis in 44 patients diagnosed according to the modified Duke criteria from a retrospective cohort study of cases of infectious endocarditis. The main outcome measure was inhospital mortality. We applied stepwise logistic regression analysis to identify risk factors for mortality.Predisposing heart conditions were observed in 86.3% of patients, and 17 had prosthetic valve endocarditis. A portal of entry was suspected or determined in 38.2%; the genitourinary tract was the most common source of the infection (29.7%). Comorbidities were present in 52.2% of cases. Twelve episodes (25.5%) were acquired during hospitalization. Only 3 isolates of Enterococcus faecalis were highly resistant to gentamicin. Eighteen patients (40.9%) needed valve replacement due to cardiac failure or relapse. Comparing cases of native valve and prosthetic valve endocarditis, we found no differences regarding complications, the need for surgical treatment, or mortality. Eight of 44 (18%) episodes were fatal. Age over 70 years (p = 0.05), heart failure (odds ratio [OR], 1.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.15-2.25; p = 0.001), presence of 1 or more comorbidities (OR, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.11-9.39; p = 0.02), and nosocomial acquisition (OR, 8.05; 95% CI, 1.50-43.2; p = 0.01) were associated with mortality. In the multivariate analysis, only nosocomial acquisition increased the risk of mortality. In patients with enterococcal endocarditis, nosocomial acquisition of infection is an important factor determining outcome. As the incidence of bacteremia and the population of elderly people at risk continue to grow, the hazard of acquiring nosocomial enterococcal endocarditis may increase; hence, major emphasis must be put on prevention.

What is That Nodule?

The evaluation of patients with subcutaneous nodules remains a diagnostic challenge. The presence of nodules can be a clue to an underlying systemic disease; however, the varied presentations of nodules and numerous disease associations make the assessment of patients with nodules far from simple. With further investigation into the appearance, location, and symptoms associated with nodules, the clinical significance of these lesions can become clearer and aid in logical diagnostic evaluation. We have reviewed the causes of nodules with emphasis on those associated with rheumatic disease and provide guidelines for nodule evaluation to better characterize disease association and lead to directed diagnostic assessment.

Spontaneous pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis and endocarditis: incidence, risk factors, and outcome

PURPOSE

The relationship between pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis and infectious endocarditis is uncertain. This study investigates the incidence and risk factors of infectious endocarditis in patients with pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis, and the outcome of pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis with and without associated infectious endocarditis.

METHODS

A retrospective record review was conducted of all cases of vertebral osteomyelitis from January 1986 to June 2002, occurring in a tertiary referral hospital. Patients were followed for at least 6 months with careful attention to detection of infectious endocarditis and relapses.

RESULTS

Among 606 patients with infectious endocarditis, 28 (4.6%) had pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis. Among 91 cases of pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis, 28 (30.8%) had infectious endocarditis. In 6 patients with no clinical signs of infectious endocarditis, the disease was established by routine echocardiography. Infectious endocarditis was more common in patients with predisposing heart conditions and streptococcal pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis infection. Overall, pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis in-hospital mortality was 11% (7.1% with infectious endocarditis). Twelve of 25 patients with infectious endocarditis with uncomplicated pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis were treated for 4 to 6 weeks (endocarditis protocol), with no pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis relapses.

CONCLUSIONS

When specifically sought, the incidence of infectious endocarditis is high in patients with pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis. Oral therapy may be an option for uncomplicated pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis; nevertheless, in gram-positive infections, this approach should only be considered after excluding infectious endocarditis. Favorable outcome with shorter treatment in uncomplicated pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis associated with infectious endocarditis suggests that prolonged therapy may not be needed in this subgroup except for those infected by difficult to treat microorganisms, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or Candida spp.