Clinical and epidemiological profile of patients treated in University Clinical Hospital of Rijeka with the diagnosis of infective endocarditis in five-year period

摘要

Background/aim: Infective endocarditis (IE) is an infection of heart valve endocardium or an endocardial surface elsewhere, caused by microorganisms. The aim of our research was to present the clinical and epidemiological profile of patients with a diagnosis of the IE, hospitalized and treated at the Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka in the period from January 2012 to January 2017.Methods: We performed a retrospective study and 74 patients with the diagnosis of IE were identified in a five year period. Duke criteria were used for diagnosis. The study was based on data from the Department for cardiovascular diseases, Clinical Hospital Centre Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia. All patients signed informed consent.Results: Out of a total of 74 identified patients, 29 were women (39,2%) and 45 men (60,8%). The median age of patients was 76 (32-88) years, while the average duration of hospitalization was 25 days. At admission, high fever was present in 52,7% of cases. Hemoculture was positive in 83,6% of cases. S.aureus (24,6%) and E.faecalis (24,6%) were most frequently isolated pathogens in blood cultures. 93,2% of patients had echocardiographic visible vegetation. Most common, the infection was located on aortic (40,5%) and mitral valve (40,5%). In 28,4% of patients prosthetic heart valve was infected.Conclusion: According to our research, patients were predominantly older (72 years), with numerous comorbidities. IE is a serious illness with high mortality. Given the large number of afebrile patients, IE should be considered even in those who do not show signs of infection, so we could diagnose it earlier, with the earliest start of proper treatment of this disease.