Epidemiology, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prognosis of Infective Endocarditis

Infective endocarditis (IE) has experienced enormous changes in recent decades [...].

Infective Endocarditis in the Elderly: Challenges and Strategies

The specific management of infective endocarditis (IE) in elderly patients is not specifically addressed in recent guidelines despite its increasing incidence and high mortality in this population. The term "elderly" corresponds to different ages in the literature, but it is defined by considerable comorbidity and heterogeneity. Cancer incidence, specifically colorectal cancer, is increased in older patients with IE and impacts its outcome. Diagnosis of IE in elderly patients is challenging due to the atypical presentation of the disease and the lower performance of imaging studies. Enterococcal etiology is more frequent than in younger patients. Antibiotic treatment should prioritize diminishing adverse effects and drug interactions while maintaining the best efficacy, as surgical treatment is less commonly performed in this population due to the high surgical risk. The global assessment of elderly patients with IE, with particular attention to frailty and geriatric profiles, should be performed by multidisciplinary teams to improve disease management in this population.

Surgical Treatment of Patients With Infective Endocarditis After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation

BACKGROUND

The optimal treatment of patients developing infective endocarditis (IE) after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is uncertain.

OBJECTIVES

The goal of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with TAVI-IE treated with cardiac surgery and antibiotics (IE-CS) compared with patients treated with antibiotics alone (IE-AB).

METHODS

Crude and inverse probability of treatment weighting analyses were applied for the treatment effect of cardiac surgery vs medical therapy on 1-year all-cause mortality in patients with definite TAVI-IE. The study used data from the Infectious Endocarditis after TAVI International Registry.

RESULTS

Among 584 patients, 111 patients (19%) were treated with IE-CS and 473 patients (81%) with IE-AB. Compared with IE-AB, IE-CS was not associated with a lower in-hospital mortality (HR_unadj: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.58-1.25) and 1-year all-cause mortality (HR_unadj: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.64-1.22) in the crude cohort. After adjusting for selection and immortal time bias, IE-CS compared with IE-AB was also not associated with lower mortality rates for in-hospital mortality (HR_adj: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.80-1.05) and 1-year all-cause mortality (HR_adj: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.84-1.07). Results remained similar when patients with and without TAVI prosthesis involvement were analyzed separately. Predictors for in-hospital and 1-year all-cause mortality included logistic EuroSCORE I, Staphylococcus aureus, acute renal failure, persistent bacteremia, and septic shock.

CONCLUSIONS

In this registry, the majority of patients with TAVI-IE were treated with antibiotics alone. Cardiac surgery was not associated with an improved all-cause in-hospital or 1-year mortality. The high mortality of patients with TAVI-IE was strongly linked to patients' characteristics, pathogen, and IE-related complications.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement associated infective endocarditis case series: broadening the criteria for diagnosis is the need of the hour

Background

Transcatheter valve replacement (TAVR) is an important therapeutic intervention for patients with aortic valve stenosis. As TAVR has become available to a broader population, there has been an increase in the number of less common, yet potentially catastrophic, complications. TAVR related infective endocarditis (TAVR-IE) is a rare, but potentially fatal, complication.

Case series

We present here two patients that we encountered for TAVR associated infective endocarditis. Our first patient presented 5 weeks after his TAVR. His initial presentation was consistent with signs of sepsis. The patient then developed Mobitz type I block during hospital course. His TEE was negative for features of infective endocarditis. Due to high suspicion, patient was taken for surgical exploration and was found to have multiple foci of vegetation adhered to the stent frame. Our second patient presented with new onset pulmonary edema, worsening heart failure and systemic inflammatory response. A TEE was done for persistent MSSA bacteremia which showed stable prosthetic valve function with no signs of infective endocarditis. Patient was discharged with a prolonged course of intravenous antibiotics. Patient was re-admitted for worsening sepsis and blood cultures were positive for MSSA. Patient was taken for surgical exploration of his prosthetic aortic valve which showed purulent aortic root abscess.

Conclusion

Through these cases, we aim to raise awareness on TAVR-IE. Due to the atypical clinical presentation, the modified Duke criteria may not be sufficient to diagnose TAVR-IE. Transesophageal echocardiogram in TAVR-IE may be negative or indeterminate. Prosthetic valve shadow may obscure smaller vegetations and/or smaller abscesses. A negative transesophageal echocardiogram should not rule out TAVR-IE and further diagnostic imaging modalities should be considered. PET/CT after administration of 18F-FDG (fluorodeoxyglucose) is a useful diagnostic tool in the diagnosis of infective endocarditis where TEE has been negative or inconclusive. Multi-modal imaging, in addition to the modified Duke criteria, can facilitate early diagnosis and improved mortality outcomes.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12872-021-02364-0.

Surgical treatment of transcatheter aortic valve infective endocarditis

There is growing interest in infections occurring after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). The incidence, and clinical and anatomical features suggest many similarities with prosthetic valve endocarditis. The survival of patients with an infected TAVI prosthesis is generally poor; however, only a minority of them (10%) have undergone treatment with surgical explantation of the infected prosthesis. A literature search was performed using online databases. Papers reporting surgical treatment of TAVI prosthesis infections were retrieved, focusing on pre- and intraoperative characteristics and early outcome. Thirty-seven papers ultimately provided information on 107 patients. Their mean ± standard deviation (SD) age was 76 ± 8 years and 72% were male. The mean ± SD time interval between the TAVI procedure and reoperation was 10 ± 10 months. Annular abscess formation was described in 34% of cases and mitral valve involvement in 31%. All patients underwent TAVI prosthesis explantation and surgical aortic valve replacement; concomitant mitral valve replacement was necessary in 22% of cases. Postoperative in-hospital mortality was 28%. Surgical explantation of infected TAVI prostheses was associated with a high postoperative mortality, although these initial experiences included elderly and high-risk patients. Considering the expansion of TAVI procedures towards younger and lower-risk patients, surgical treatment of TAVI endocarditis may represent the best option for a life-saving procedure.

Infective Endocarditis After Surgical and Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: A State of the Art Review

Prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) after surgical aortic valve replacement and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) carries significant morbidity/mortality. Our review aims to compare incidence, predisposing factors, microbiology, diagnosis, management, and outcomes of PVE in surgical aortic valve replacement/TAVR patients. We searched PubMed and Embase to identify published studies from January 1, 2015 to March 13, 2020. Key words were indexed for original reports, clinical studies, and reviews. Reports were evaluated by 2 authors against a priori inclusion/exclusion criteria. Studies were included if they reported incidence and outcomes related to surgical aortic valve replacement/TAVR PVE and excluded if they were published pre-2015 or included a small population. We followed the Cochrane methodology and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines for all stages of the design and implementation. Study quality was based on the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Thirty-three studies with 311 to 41 025 patients contained relevant information. The majority found no significant difference in incidence of surgical aortic valve replacement/TAVR PVE (reported as 0.3%-1.2% per patient-year versus 0.6%-3.4%), but there were key differences in pathogenesis. TAVR has a specific set of infection risks related to entry site, procedure, and device, including nonstandardized protocols for infection control, valve crimping injury, paravalvular leak, neo-leaflet stress, intact/calcified native leaflets, and intracardiac hardware. With the expansion of TAVR to lower risk and younger patients, a better understanding of pathogenesis, patient presentation, and guideline-directed treatment is paramount. When operative intervention is necessary, mortality remains high at 20% to 30%. Unique TAVR infection risks present opportunities for PVE prevention, therefore, further investigation is imperative.

Infective endocarditis post-transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), microbiological profile and clinical outcomes: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

The data on infective endocarditis after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is scarce and limited to case reports and case series in the literature. It is the need of the hour to analyze the available data on post-TAVI infective endocarditis from the available literature. The objectives of this systematic review were to evaluate the incidence of infective endocarditis after transcatheter aortic valve implantation, its microbiological profile and clinical outcomes. It will help us to improve the antibiotic prophylaxis strategies and treatment options for infective endocarditis in the context of TAVI.

METHODS

EMBASE, Medline and the CENTRAL trials registry of the Cochrane Collaboration were searched for articles on infective endocarditis in post-TAVI patients till October 2018. Eleven articles were included in the systematic review. The outcomes assessed werethe incidence of infective endocarditis, its microbiological profile andclinical outcomes including major adverse cardiac event (MACE), net adverse clinical event (NACE), surgical intervention and valve-in-valve procedure.

RESULTS

The incidence of infective endocarditis varied from 0%-14.3% in the included studies, the mean was3.25%. The average duration of follow-up was 474 days (1.3 years). Enterococci were the most common causative organism isolated from 25.9% of cases followed by Staphylococcus aureus (16.1%) and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species (14.7%). The mean in-hospital mortality and mortality at follow-up was 29.5% and 29.9%, respectively. The cumulative incidence of heart failure, stroke and major bleeding were 37.1%, 5.3% and 11.3%,respectively. Only a single study by Martinez-Selles et al. reported arrhythmias in 20% cases. The septic shock occurred in 10% and 27.7% post-TAVI infective endocarditis patients according to 2 studies. The surgical intervention and valve-in-valve procedure were reported in 11.4% and 6.4% cases, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The incidence of post-TAVI infective endocarditis is low being 3.25% but it is associated with high mortality and complications. The most common complication is heart failure with a cumulative incidence of 37.1%. Enterococciare the most common causative organism isolated from 25.9% of cases followed by Staphylococcus aureus in 16.1% of cases. Appropriate measures should be taken to prevent infective endocarditis in post-TAVI patients including adequate antibiotics prophylaxis directed specifically against these organisms.

STUDY REGISTRATION

PROSPERO registration number CRD42018115943.

Different types of endocarditis after transcatheter aortic valve implantation

INTRODUCTION

Infective endocarditis (IE) may take different faces in patients after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

OBJECTIVES

The primary aim of this study was to describe echocardiographic and clinical characteristics of TAVI's patients suffered from IE.

METHODS

In a single-center, retrospective study we analyzed 311 consecutive patients treated with TAVI for severe aortic stenosis between 2010 and 2018.

RESULTS

According to modified Duke criteria, we confirmed IE in 2.2% of the cohort, however PVE of TAVI's valve in 1.2% only; rest of the group suffered from CDRiE and IE of the mitral valve. In PVE's group vegetations were localized inside the frame with or without bioprosthesis moderate stenosis or regurgitation. Only 1 pts developed significant TAVI's bioprosthesis' paravalvular leak. We observed no native aortic anulus involvement. Mortality rate in the PVE-TAVI's group was 75% regardless of the type of treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

The above findings show that IE following TAVI is a serious complication and various scenarios (also CDRiE and native valve IE) should be considered.

Infective endocarditis after transcatheter aortic valve implantation: Contributions of a single-centre experience on incidence and associated factors

INTRODUCTION

Infective endocarditis (IE) after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is an emerging complication. There are incomplete and disparate data on its incidence. We present the experience of a single-centre of incidence, mortality and associated factors of IE after TAVI.

METHODS

A retrospective observational study of IE cases in people who received a TAVI, between 06/01/2009 and 11/01/2017, in a university hospital, during a median follow-up period of 15.3months (interquartile range [IQR] 9.1-36.2). Incidence, clinical, microbiological and prognostic data, and factors associated with IE after TAVI were analysed.

RESULTS

Eleven patients with IE of 200 TAVI were detected. Global incidence: 5.5% (2.77 cases per 100 patient-year). The median of days from TAVI to IE was 112 (IQR 36-578), the in-hospital mortality rate was 36.4%, and the one-year mortality rate was 54.5%. All the organisms identified were gram-positive (4 Enterococcus faecalis, 3 coagulase-negative Staphylococcus). The patients with IE after TAVI were significantly younger (median 78years, IQR 73-80, versus 82 years, IQR 79-84, P=.002), they had a higher EuroSCORE (5.1±2.4 versus 3.2±1.2, P<.001), and they more frequently had a history of neoplasia (18.2% versus 4.2%, P<.03) CONCLUSIONS: In our area, IE after TAVI has an incidence greater than that described in multicentre series, this is in line with the trend published in the literature. It leads to high mortality and is associated with a worse baseline clinical situation.

Cardiac Surgery Compared With Antibiotics Only in Patients Developing Infective Endocarditis After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement

Background Infective endocarditis ( IE ) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement is a devastating complication associated with a high mortality. Our objective was to determine the impact of cardiac surgery (CS) and antibiotics ( IE - CS ) compared with medical treatment with antibiotics only ( IE - AB x) on 1-year mortality in patients developing IE after transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Methods and Results Patients developing IE after transcatheter aortic valve replacement were included in this retrospective analysis. All-cause 1-year mortality was the primary end point. A total of 20 patients underwent IE - CS compared with 44 patients treated by IE - AB x. In this unmatched cohort, patients treated by IE - AB x were older ( P=0.006), had a higher Society of Thoracic Surgeons score ( P=0.029), and more often had severe chronic kidney disease ( P=0.037). One-year mortality was not different between groups ( IE -CS versus IE-ABx, 65% versus 68.2%; P=0.802). The rate of any complication during treatment was higher in the IE - CS group ( P=0.024). In a matched cohort, baseline characteristics were not significantly different. All-cause 1-year mortality was not different between groups ( IE -CS versus IE-ABx, 65% versus 75%; P=0.490). A Cox regression analysis revealed any indication for surgery (hazard ratio, 6.20; 95% confidence interval, 1.80-21.41; P=0.004), sepsis on admission (hazard ratio, 4.03; 95% confidence interval, 1.97-8.24; P<0.001), and mitral regurgitation ≥2 (hazard ratio, 2.91; 95% confidence interval, 1.33-6.37) as factors associated with 1-year mortality. Conclusions In patients developing IE after transcatheter aortic valve replacement, mortality was predicted by the severity of IE and concomitant mitral regurgitation. In this small, and therefore statistically limited, but high-risk patient cohort, CS provided no significant mortality benefit compared with medical therapy. Individual decision making by a "heart and endocarditis team" is necessary to offer those patients the most reasonable treatment option.

Infective Endocarditis in Patients With Bicuspid Aortic Valve or Mitral Valve Prolapse

BACKGROUND

There is little information concerning infective endocarditis (IE) in patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) or mitral valve prolapse (MVP). Currently, IE antibiotic prophylaxis (IEAP) is not recommended for these conditions.

OBJECTIVES

This study sought to describe the clinical and microbiological features of IE in patients with BAV and MVP and compare them with those of IE patients with and without IEAP indication, to determine the potential benefit of IEAP in these conditions.

METHODS

This analysis involved 3,208 consecutive IE patients prospectively included in the GAMES (Grupo de Apoyo al Manejo de la Endocarditis infecciosa en España) registry at 31 Spanish hospitals. Patients were classified as high-risk IE with IEAP indication (high-risk group; n = 1,226), low- and moderate-risk IE without IEAP indication (low/moderate-risk group; n = 1,839), and IE with BAV (n = 54) or MVP (n = 89).

RESULTS

BAV and MVP patients had a higher incidence of viridans group streptococci IE than did high-risk group and low/moderate-risk group patients (35.2% and 39.3% vs. 12.1% and 15.0%, respectively; all p < 0.01). A similar pattern was seen for IE from suspected odontologic origin (14.8% and 18.0% vs. 5.8% and 6.0%; all p < 0.01). BAV and MVP patients had more intracardiac complications than did low/moderate-risk group (50% and 47.2% vs. 30.6%, both p < 0.01) patients and were similar to high-risk group patients.

CONCLUSIONS

IE in patients with BAV and MVP have higher rates of viridans group streptococci IE and IE from suspected odontologic origin than in other IE patients, with a clinical profile similar to that of high-risk IE patients. Our findings suggest that BAV and MVP should be classified as high-risk IE conditions and the case for IEAP should be reconsidered.

How TAVI registries report clinical outcomes-A systematic review of endpoints based on VARC-2 definitions

Introduction

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has been demonstrated to be an alternative treatment for severe aortic stenosis in patients considered as high surgical risk. Since its first human implantation by Cribier et al., TAVI has been shown to increase survival rate and quality of life for high surgical risks patients. The objective of this study is to provide an overview of TAVI registries and the reporting clinical outcomes based on the VARC-2 definitions. In addition, the comparability and adherence of VARC-2 reporting within the identified TAVI registries was reviewed.

Materials and methods

A systematic review of TAVI registries reporting VARC-2 definitions has been performed in line with PRISMA guidelines in PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus databases and EMBASE. Based on VARC-2, patients’ characteristics and procedure characteristics, 30-day clinical outcomes, 1-year mortality and composited endpoints were extracted from each registry’s publications.

Results

This review identified 466 studies that were potentially relevant, and 20 TAVI registries reported VARC-2 definitions involved in our present review. Of all 20 registries, an overall sample size of 12,583 patients was involved. The 30-day all-cause mortality ranged from 0 to 12.7%. From 20 registries, 14 registries reported the cardiovascular mortality at 30 days. 9 registries reported myocardial infarction (MI) rate based on VARC-2 definitions, and 7 registries reported peri-procedural MI rate (<72h). In our review, most of registries presented MI rates ranging from 0.5% to 2%. The majority of registries have reported complications such as bleeding, vascular complications and new pacemaker implantation.

Conclusion

Since the introduction of VARC definitions from 2011, VARC and VARC-2 definitions are still not systematically used by all TAVI studies. These endpoint definitions warrant a concise and systemic analysis of outcome measures. Reporting TAVI-outcome uniformly makes study result comparison feasible. This definitely will increase patient safety, additionally to provide sufficient evidence to support decision makers like regulatory bodies, HTA agencies, payers.

The Changing Epidemiology of Infective Endocarditis in the Twenty-First Century

PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a relatively infrequent infectious disease. It does, however, causes serious morbidity, and its mortality rate has remained unchanged at approximately 25%. Changes in IE risk factors have deeply impacted its epidemiology during recent decades but literature from low-income countries is very scarce. Moreover, prophylaxis guidelines have recently changed and the impact on IE incidence is still unknown.

RECENT FINDINGS

In high-income countries, the proportion of IE related to prior rheumatic disease has decreased significantly and has been replaced proportionally by cases related to degenerative valvulopathies, prosthetic valves, and cardiovascular implantable electronic devices. Nosocomial and non-nosocomial-acquired cases have risen, as has the proportion caused by staphylococci, and the median age of patients. In low-income countries, in contrast, rheumatic disease remains the main risk factor, and streptococci the most frequent causative agents. Studies performed to evaluate impact of guidelines changes' have shown contradictory results. The increased complexity of cases in high-income countries has led to the creation of IE teams, involving several specialties. New imaging and microbiological techniques may increase sensitivity for diagnosis and detection of IE cases. In low-income countries, IE remained related to classic risk factors. The consequences of prophylaxis guidelines changes are still undetermined.

Impact of percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation procedural steps on leaflets histology and mechanical behaviour: An in vitro study

BACKGROUND

Percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation (PPVI) using the bovine jugular vein Melody(®) valve (Medtronic Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA) is safe and effective. However, post-procedural complications have been reported, the reasons for which are unclear.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the impact of PPVI procedural steps on valvular histology and leaflet mechanical behaviour.

METHODS

Three different valved stents (the Melody(®) valve and two homemade stents with bovine and porcine pericardium) were tested in vitro under four conditions: (1) control group; (2) crimping; (3) crimping plus inflation of low-pressure balloon; (4) condition III plus post-dilatation (high-pressure balloon). For each condition, valvular leaflets (and a venous wall sample for Melody(®) stents) were taken for histological analysis and mechanical uniaxial testing of the valve leaflets.

RESULTS

Among the Melody(®) valves, the incidence of transverse fractures was significantly higher in traumatized samples compared with the control group (P<0.05), whereas the incidence and depth of transverse fractures were not statistically different between the four conditions for bovine and porcine pericardial leaflets. No significant modification of the mechanical behaviour of in vitro traumatized Melody(®) valvular leaflets was observed. Bovine and porcine pericardia became more elastic and less resilient after balloon expansion and post-dilatation (conditions III and IV), with a significant decrease in elastic modulus and stress at rupture.

CONCLUSION

Valved stent implantation procedural steps induced histological lesions on Melody(®) valve leaflets. Conversely, bovine and porcine pericardial valved stents were not histologically altered by in vitro manipulations, although their mechanical properties were significantly modified. These data could explain some of the long-term complications observed with these substitutes.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infective Endocarditis Following Aortic Valve Implantation: A Note of Caution

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is an alternative treatment for severe aortic valve stenosis (AS) in patients with prohibitive risk for surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). Prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) is a rare complication of this relatively novel procedure and current guidelines do not include specific recommendations for its treatment.

We report a case of PVE due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa after TAVI that required SAVR, with successful outcome.

PVE usually occurs during the first year after TAVI and entails a high mortality risk because patients eligible for this min-imally invasive procedure are fragile (i.e. advanced age and/or severe comorbidities). Additionally, clinical presentation may be atypical or subtle and transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) may not be conclusive, which delays diagnosis and treatment worsening the prognosis. This case highlights that open SAVR might be ultimately indicated as part of treatment for TAVI-PVE despite a high-risk surgery score.