CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICINE

Molecular diagnosis of culture negative infective endocarditis: clinical validation in a group of surgically treated patients

M Grijalva, R Horváth, M Dendis, J Ern, J Benedík

Centre of Cardiovascular Surgery and Transplantation, Brno, Czech Republic

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Jaroslav Benedik, Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Centre for Cardiovascular Surgery and Transplantation, CKTCH, Vystavni 17-19, 603 00 Brno, Czech Republic;
jasben{at}cktch.cz

Objective: To assess the clinical validity of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based molecular methods in the microbiological diagnosis of culture negative infective endocarditis in a group of surgically treated patients.

Design: Retrospective case–control study.

Setting: Reference cardiovascular surgical centre.

Patients and samples: 15 culture negative patients with infective endocarditis classified according to Duke criteria, with 17 heart valve samples; 13 age and sex matched control patients without infective endocarditis, with 13 valve samples.

Interventions: Medical records were reviewed and clinical, demographic, and microbiological data collected, including results of molecular detection of bacteria and fungi from valve samples. The clinical validity of molecular diagnosis was assessed, along with the sensitivity and speed of the systems.

Results: In the study group, 14 patients were PCR positive (93%). Organisms detected were streptococci (3), staphylococci (2), enterobacter (1), Tropheryma whippelii (1), Borrelia burgdorferi (1), Candida albicans (1), and Aspergillus species (2). Three cases were positive on universal bacterial detection but the pathogen could not be identified because of contaminating background. One case was negative. All but two positive cases showed clinical correlations. These two cases had no symptoms of infective endocarditis but there was agreement with the surgical findings. All control cases were PCR negative. Results were available within eight hours, and if sequencing was necessary, within 48 hours.

Conclusions: PCR based molecular detection of pathogens in valve samples from surgically treated culture negative infective endocarditis patients is fast, sensitive, and reliable. The technology, combined with thorough validation and clinical interpretation, may be a promising tool for routine testing of infective endocarditis.

Keywords: infective endocarditis; molecular biology; polymerase chain reaction

Abbreviations: AFLP, amplified fragment length polymorphism; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; PVE, prosthetic valve endocarditis; RFLP, restriction fragment length polymorphism; UNB, universal bacterial detection; UNF, universal fungal detection

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Graham, S., Howes, C., Dunsmuir, R., Sandoe, J. (2009). Vertebral osteomyelitis and discitis due to Gardnerella vaginalis. J Med Microbiol 58: 1382-1384 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Marin, M., Munoz, P., Sanchez, M., del Rosal, M., Rodriguez-Creixems, M., Bouza, E., on behalf of Grupo de Apoyo al Manejo de la Endoca, (2007). Tropheryma whipplei Infective Endocarditis as the Only Manifestation of Whipple's Disease. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 2078-2081 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Di Filippo, S, Delahaye, F, Semiond, B, Celard, M, Henaine, R, Ninet, J, Sassolas, F, Bozio, A (2006). Current patterns of infective endocarditis in congenital heart disease. Heart 92: 1490-1495 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Imrit, K., Goldfischer, M., Wang, J., Green, J., Levine, J., Lombardo, J., Hong, T. (2006). Identification of Bacteria in Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded Heart Valve Tissue via 16S rRNA Gene Nucleotide Sequencing.. J. Clin. Microbiol. 44: 2609-2611 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• West, D, Hutcheon, S, Kain, R, Reid, T, Walton, S, Buchan, K (2005). Whipple's endocarditis. JRSM 98: 362-364 [Full Text]  
• Breitkopf, C., Hammel, D., Scheld, H. H., Peters, G., Becker, K. (2005). Impact of a Molecular Approach to Improve the Microbiological Diagnosis of Infective Heart Valve Endocarditis. Circulation 111: 1415-1421 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Rovery, C., Greub, G., Lepidi, H., Casalta, J.-P., Habib, G., Collart, F., Raoult, D. (2005). PCR Detection of Bacteria on Cardiac Valves of Patients with Treated Bacterial Endocarditis. J. Clin. Microbiol. 43: 163-167 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Elliott, T. S. J., Foweraker, J., Gould, F. K., Perry, J. D., Sandoe, J. A. T. (2004). Guidelines for the antibiotic treatment of endocarditis in adults: report of the Working Party of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. J Antimicrob Chemother 54: 971-981 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Vassalos, A., Dancer, S.J., MacArthur, K.J.D. (2004). Polymerase chain reaction diagnosis in culture-negative prosthetic valve methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis in a patient with chronic liver disease. ICVTS 3: 240-242 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Prendergast, B D (2004). Diagnostic criteria and problems in infective endocarditis. Heart 90: 611-613 [Full Text]  
• (2003). Molecular diagnosis is valid for culture negative infective endocarditis. J. Clin. Pathol. 56: 367-367 [Full Text]  
• Naber, C K, Erbel, R (2003). Diagnosis of culture negative endocarditis: novel strategies to prove the suspect guilty. Heart 89: 241-243 [Full Text]