Original article
Cardiovascular
Long-Term Outcomes in Valve Replacement Surgery for Infective Endocarditis

Presented at the Poster Session of the Forty-second Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, Chicago, IL, Jan 30–Feb 1, 2006.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.athoracsur.2006.07.037Get rights and content

Background

Infective endocarditis is associated with a high rate of long-term mortality. Patients with a history of intravenous drug use (IVDU) are at increased risk for infective endocarditis. However, few studies have reported results of surgical treatment on this population. We present 19.5 years of experience with surgically treated patients with infective endocarditis.

Methods

A retrospective study of all cardiac surgeries with a diagnosis of infective endocarditis at a single institution from 1986 to 2005 was performed. Logistic stepwise regression with an end point of operative mortality was done. Variables were age, gender, race, history of drug use, previous valve surgery, and previous valve replacement. Perioperative and outcome variables were compared between IVDU and non-IVDU populations.

Results

The IVDU population required surgery at a younger age (39 ± 9 years versus 54 ± 15 years; p < 0.001). Overall operative mortality was 12% (41/346). The perioperative complication rate was similar for both groups. When adjusted for age, the two groups had similar long-term survival (p = 0.78). Kaplan-Meier estimator showed that survival at 10 and 15 years was 66% and 54% for IVDU and 56% and 42% for non-IVDU (number at risk, 19, 11, and 61, 28, respectively; p = 0.137). Reoperation for recurrent infective endocarditis was necessary in 9 (17%) of 52 of the IVDU group versus 14 (5%) of 270 of the non-IVDU group (p = 0.03).

Conclusions

Patients with a history of IVDU required reoperation for recurrent infective endocarditis at a significantly higher rate than the non-IVDU patients. Long-term survival was similar between the younger IVDU population and the older non-IVDU population. Anticipated life span is one of many factors when considering prosthetic valve choice in this population.

Section snippets

Patients and Methods

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board in December 2002, which waived the requirement for patient consent. Between January 31, 1986, and June 9, 2005, 322 patients (213 men, 109 women) underwent 346 consecutive valve replacement operations for infective endocarditis at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. Hospital records for all 322 patients, including admission notes, operative reports, discharge summaries, and patient-physician correspondence were reviewed

Results

Of the 322 patients that underwent 346 surgeries during the nearly 19.5-year period, 52 were identified as IVDUs who underwent 62 valve operations. Patient demographics are summarized in Table 1. The mean age of the total patient population was 51 ± 15 years (range, 22 to 83 years). The IVDU group age was 39 ± 9 years (range, 22 to 67 years), which was significantly lower than the non-IVDU group of 54 ± 15 years (range, 22 to 83 years, p < 0.001). Mean follow-up of patient chart records was 1.8

Comment

IVDU use has emerged as a prevalent cause of infective endocarditis. During the past 20 years, nearly one fifth of the patients who underwent valve operations for infective endocarditis at Barnes Jewish hospital had a history of IVDU. In this study, right-sided valve involvement was significantly higher in the IVDU population than the non-IVDU population. This supports the previously published association between IVDU and infection of the right-sided heart valves [10, 11, 12]. Ako and

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