Approaches to late prognosis in patients with subacute infectious endocarditis

AIM: To ascertain late prognosis of subacute infectious endocarditis (IE), factors involved in the prognosis, formulate approaches to assessment of late prognosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective trial included 98 patients discharged from a hospital with diagnosis "subacute IE", treated without surgery or without endocarditis of the prosthesis. The diagnosis was verified at echocardiography. A mean follow-up 4.8 +/- 3.7 years. Clinical and echo-CG follow-up findings were computer-processed. RESULTS: 5-year lethality was 31%. The patients died of cardiac failure (CF) and acute failure of cerebral circulation (84 and 16%, respectively). Late complications in the survivors were the following: severe CF (18 patients, 32%), moderate CF (18 patients, 32%), recurrent IE (12 patients, 20%). Such factors as IE variant (primary or secondary), affection of the aortic valve, severity of regurgitation, size of the left ventricle, CF progression in the acute phase proved to have a significant influence on late prognosis. CONCLUSION: The prevalent cause of death in IE is CF. The progression of CF depends on combination of the above factors. High risk group patients should be examined by a cardio-surgeon even in the absence of clinical symptoms of CF.     

Infective endocarditis: the features of its clinical course and the prognosis

The paper covers an investigation of 150 patients with infective endocarditis (IE), including 100 patients (aged 18 to 30 years old) with intravenous drug abuse as the main risk factor. This subgroup is characterized by an acute clinical course of IE, with tricuspid valve disorder in most cases and septic pulmonary embolism relapse in 72% of cases. Heart failure, multiple cardiac valvular disorder and focal lung destruction were found to be the main factors of unfavorable outcome. A relation between the size of vegetation on the heart valves and the mortality rate was established. At the same time, secondary immunodeficiency due to HIV-infection had no significant effect on the mortality rate in the group of drug addicts. More frequent cases of heart failure with systemic circulation embolism lead to higher hospital mortality in the group of patients with a subacute clinical course of IE. In elderly patients other concomitant pathology resulted in late IE detection and a high mortality rate.     

365例急性期腰椎间盘突出症保守治疗临床分析

目的观察急性期或亚急性期腰椎间盘突出症的保守治疗效果。方法365例腰椎间盘突出症患者为急性期78例、亚急性期287例,急性期患者的治疗原则为消除局部水肿和无菌性炎症;亚急性期患者的治疗原则为恢复生理或代偿平衡,松解粘连,消除神经根及局部相关组织的炎性刺激。结果急性期患者治愈60例(76.9%)、好转18例(23.1%)、未愈0例;亚急性期患者治愈186例(64.8%)、好转101例(35.2%)、未愈0例,总有效率99.7%。结论保守治疗对急性期和亚急性期腰椎间盘突出症有一定的疗效。     

Results of observation of infective endocarditis patients during 1965-2005

AIM: To clarify the trends in infective endocarditis by our experience for 40 years. MATERIAL AND METHODS: During the last 40 years (1965-2005) we observed 620 patients with infective endocarditis (IE). There were 615 patients with subacute IE (99.2%) and only 5 patients with acute IE (0.8%). There were 402 males (66.8%) and 218 females (35.2%). The age was 16-84 years (mean age 53 +/- 17). We studied the finding of hemoculture, echocardiography, immunological investigations, the levels of C-reactive protein. RESULTS: Streptococcal endocarditis runs a standard course, but more often we encountered staphylococcal, enterococcal endocarditis with a severe course. Predisposing cardiac disorders in 264 IE patients were rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease, mitral prolapse, involutive valve disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, prosthetic valve. CONCLUSION: Conventional and unconventional IE cases, recurrent IE, current criteria of IE are described.     

The results of conservative therapy and the analysis of survival rate in drug addicted patients with infectious endocarditis

110 drug addicted patients with infectious endocarditis (IE), 67 males and 43 females with average age 24 +/- 3.2 years were examined. Positive results of conservative therapy were in 69.2% patients with isolated lesion of tricuspid valve. Hospital lethality in the group of patients was 35.5% (39 cases). The analysis of survival rate of IE patients with the use of Cox's regression model made possible to establish that main predictors of lethal outcome in the group of patients were dimensions of microbe vegetations on tricuspid valve more than 2 cm, development of acute left ventricle failure, DIC-syndrome, and high degree tricuspid valve failure. Presence of HIV in early stage and C hepatitis without clinical laboratory activity did not have significant influence on IE outcome in this group of patients.     

Combination of Libman-Sacks endocarditis with infectious endocarditis

Out of 242 patients treated for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Novosibirsk for 15 years, valvular lesions and endocarditis were diagnosed in 41(16.9%) patients. Combination of Libman-Sax endocarditis (LSE) with infectious endocarditis (IE) was observed in three patients (two women, one man, age 18-40 year). SLE ran a subacute course in one woman, an acute one--in the other. LSE emerged early in SLE in two patients. All the patients had polyorganic lupus pathology, lupus nephritis with nephrotic syndrome (morphological class IV). Two patients had mitral valve disease, one patient--mitral-aortic disease. The rise of secondary IE was seen after massive immunosuppressive therapy. The diagnosis of secondary IE was made after SLE duration for 10-36 months. At IE diagnosis, all the patients had high titers of blood antiphospholipid antibodies. IE was of staphylococcal origin in two patients and candidosis-induced in one patient. In SLE with IE there was thromboembolic syndrome. LSE and IE have related aspects which should be regarded in clinical practice: possible "IE mask" in LSE, risk of secondary IE in about 10% of LSE patients, prophylactic measures necessary to prevent IE in hemodynamically prominent forms of LSE.     

儿童感染性心内膜炎诊断与治疗

目的：探讨儿童感染性心内膜炎（IE）的临床特征，提高对儿童感染性心内膜炎的诊治水平。方法：回顾分析52例儿童感染性心内膜炎的基础病因、临床表现、并发症及治疗结果。结果：儿童感染性心内膜炎基础病因主要是先天性心脏病35例（67．3％），其次为风湿性心瓣膜病10例（19．2％），无基础心脏病7例（13．5％）。发热、贫血为儿童感染性心内膜炎常见临床表现。血培养阳性30例（57．7％），发现心内赘生物30例（57．7％）。外科手术治疗5例，术后患儿生活质量好。治愈35例（67．3％），自动出院3例，死亡14例（26．9％）。结论：先天性心脏病及风湿性心瓣膜病患儿出现不明原因长时间发热，无基础心脏病患儿发热、出现心脏杂音均应考虑感染性心内膜炎的可能，IE患儿经敏感、大剂量抗生索治疗后赘生物不消失、心瓣膜出现严重损害时应积极进行外科手术治疗。     

Addition of rifampin to standard therapy for treatment of native valve infective endocarditis caused by Staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococcus aureus is a common cause of native valve infective endocarditis (IE). Rifampin is often added to traditional therapy for the management of serious S. aureus infections. There are no large, prospective studies documenting the safety and efficacy of adjunctive therapy with rifampin for treatment of native valve S. aureus IE. We reviewed all cases of definite native valve S. aureus IE confirmed by modified Duke criteria in a large urban hospital between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2005. A retrospective cohort analysis was used to assess the impact of the addition of rifampin to standard therapy. There were 42 cases of S. aureus IE treated with the addition of rifampin and 42 controls. Cases received a median of 20 days of rifampin (range, 14 to 48 days). Rifampin-resistant S. aureus isolates developed in nine cases who received rifampin before clearance of bacteremia (56%), while significant hepatic transaminase elevations also occurred in nine cases, all of whom had hepatitis C infection. Unrecognized significant drug-drug interactions with rifampin occurred frequently (52%). Cases were more likely to have a longer duration of bacteremia (5.2 versus 2.1 days; P < 0.001) and were less likely to survive (79% versus 95%; P = 0.048) than controls. Our results suggest that the potential for hepatotoxicity, drug-drug interactions, and the emergence of resistant S. aureus isolates warrants a careful risk-benefit assessment before adding rifampin to standard antibiotic treatment of native valve S. aureus IE until further clinical studies are performed.     

感染性心内膜炎的临床变迁（附116例临床分析）

目的 探讨感染性心内膜炎(IE)的病因、致病微生物的变化、临床变迁及预后等因素，提高IE的诊治水平。方法 对1990年6月-2002年6月住院的116例IE患基础心脏病情况、主要临床表现、血培养、超声心动图检查、治疗结果及预后等进行分析。结果 IE基础心脏病中，先天性心脏病的比例(34．5％)有所升高，而风湿性心脏病的比例(25．9％)有所下降，无器质性心脏病的比例(19．O％)较既往国内外报道的发病率有明显的提高。血培养阳性率为41．4％，草绿色链球菌是IE的主要致病菌(29．2％)；近年来，发现条件致病菌假单胞菌属引起IE(本组4例)。超声心动图探测心内赘生物的比例为65．5％。人工瓣膜性IE发病率(17．2％)有所升高，死亡率为25．O％。本组死亡13例(11．2％)，本病预后严重。结论 IE基础心脏病和致病菌发生较明显变化，超声心动图对IE诊断及治疗有重要价值，本病预后严重，人工瓣膜性IE发病率及死亡率高，应尽早手术治疗。     

Modern aspects of the clinicomorphological picture of acute and subacute infective endocarditis

The purpose of the study was to determine peculiarities of the clinico-morphological picture of modern infective endocarditis (IE). The authors generalize the results of 100 morphological studies of acute and subacute IE (AIE and SAIE) within the last 20 years (1985--2005). AIE and SAIE had developed in 52% and 35% of cases, respectively, after operations, medical manipulations and examinations. The development of secondary AIE was favored by congenital heart defects and mitral valvular (MV) prolapse, while secondary SAIE developed in patients with congenital heart defects as well as atherosclerotic and rheumatic heart defects. The feature of contemporary IE is the prevalence of primary clinico-morphological form with isolated aortal valvular (A V) lesion. Morphological changes in organs formed as a result of multiple septic embolism, immunocomplex lesion, panarteritis, and cardiac insufficiency. The occurrence and progress of the latter was caused by prominent AV and MV insufficiency (during several weeks in patients with AIE and several months in SAIE), myocarditis, pericarditis, myocardial dystrophy, and cardiosclerosis.     

感染性心内膜炎伴心功能不全超声表现北大核心CSCD

目的观察感染性心内膜炎(IE)伴心功能不全超声表现及其诊断价值。方法回顾性收集98例IE伴心功能不全患者,根据纽约心脏协会(NYHA)分级将其分为NYHAⅡ级组(n=30)、NYHAⅢ级组(n=43)及NYHAⅣ级组(n=25);对比3组临床及超声资料,将组间差异有统计学意义的指标纳入logistic回归分析,观察各指标与IE伴心功能不全的关系。结果98例中,45例血培养阳性(45/98,45.92%),其中24例(24/45,53.33%)致病菌为甲型溶血性链球菌;67例(67/98,68.37%)合并心脏基础疾病,其中19例(19/67,28.36%)合并二叶主动脉瓣。经手术治疗后,77例症状减轻,NYHAⅢ级组8例、NYHAⅣ级组13例死亡。3组合并瓣膜反流、赘生物累及多个瓣膜及瓣叶穿孔病例占比差异均有统计学意义(P均<0.05),且重度瓣膜反流、赘生物累及多个瓣膜及瓣叶穿孔是评估IE伴心功能不全分级的独立预测因素(P均<0.05)。结论IE伴心功能不全超声心动图可表现为重度瓣膜反流、赘生物累及多个瓣膜和瓣叶穿孔;根据上述表现可预测其分级。     

感染性心内膜炎38例临床分析

目的 探讨感染性心内膜炎（IE）的临床特点,诊断,治疗方法及转归.方法 回顾分析近17年38例感染性心内膜炎患者的临床特征及诊断.结果 ①38例患者中36例为自体心脏瓣膜心内膜炎,2例为人工瓣膜心内膜炎.36例自体瓣膜心内膜炎中,基础心脏病占72.22%（26/36）,其中风湿性心脏病占36.11%（13/36）,先天性心脏病占22.22%（8/36）,原发性二尖瓣脱垂占8.33%（3/36）,高血压性心脏病占2.78%（1/36）.心肌病占2.78%（1/36）.②38例患者临床表现包括发热100%（38/38）,寒颤57.89%（22/38）.贫血55.26%（21/38）.脾肿大50%（19/38）.脏器栓寒15.79%（6/38）.③血培养阳性率为31.58%（12/38）.其中8例为链球菌属,4例为葡萄球菌属.④38例患者中30例（78.94%）患者经单纯抗感染治疗后治愈,4例（11.1l%）患者经手术联合药物抗感染治疗后治愈,有4例（11.11%）合并心衰而死亡.⑤38例感染性心内膜炎患者中,无基础心脏病患者10例,有基础心脏病患者26例.10例无基础心脏病患者中有明确感染途径的占6例,26例有基础心脏病患者中有明确感染途径的占7例,两者感染途径阳性率比较差异有统计学意义（P=0.006）.结论 感染性心内膜炎最常见的基础心脏病是风湿性瓣膜病、先天性心脏病、二尖瓣脱垂;对于长期不明原因发热,应考虑有感染性心内膜炎的可能,有明确感染途径而长期发热者应高度怀疑感染性心内膜炎.超声心动图有助于感染性心内膜炎的诊断,血培养阳性率并不高.合并心力哀竭者则预后不良.     

Seven-year survey of infective endocarditis at Keio University Hospital

To determine the recent clinical features of infective endocarditis (IE), the author evaluated data on 19 cases of 16 patients with IE who were treated at Keio University Hospital between April 1, 1987 and March 31, 1994. There were 13 men and 3 women aged 24 to 65 years (mean 43.4 years). Echocardiography revealed the presence of valve vegetation in 12 patients. Viridans streptococci were the most common pathogen, and were identified in seven cases. Two cases of native valve endocarditis (NVE) due toStreptococcus agalactiae and three cases due to group D streptococci (two of which were identified asEnterococcus faecalis) were encountered. One of two cases infected wthS. agalactiae had no underlying diseases. NVE due to viridans streptococci,S. agalactiae, and group D streptococcus was successfully treated with penicillin G or ampicillin combined with gentamicin. One case of NVE due to methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus improved following treatment with a combination of cefmetazole and fosfomycin. Five patients underwent valve replacement surgery following antimicrobial therapy. One of these patients developed later endocarditis on the prosthetic valve. Three patients developed recurrent NVE. All but one of the 16 patients survived; the single death was due to a cerebral infarction. Based on these results, the author believes that currently available antibiotics are efficacious against IE.     

系统性红斑狼疮诱发的非感染性心内膜炎心脏瓣膜病变的超声及临床特点分析

目的对比分析超声心动图对非感染性心内膜炎（NIE）与不典型感染性心内膜炎（IE）的诊断价值,提高对NIE尤其是系统性红斑狼疮（SLE）诱发的NIE心脏瓣膜病变的超声及临床特点认识。 方法收集2005年7月至2015年1月首都医科大学附属北京朝阳医院收治的经临床确诊的NIE患者38例,其中SLE患者10例,风湿性心脏病10例,类风湿心脏病患者11例,乙肝相关患者7例;同时以该院同期收治的经临床确诊的不典型IE患者42例作为对照。采用χ²检验比较两组患者血培养、心电图、血清免疫学、超声心动图检查结果的差异。 结果两组患者血培养、血清免疫学、心电图检查结果差异均有统计学意义（χ²值分别为26.29、5.53、4.80,P值均<0.05）,但超声心动图检查结果差异无统计学意义（χ²=0.03,P>0.05）。38例NIE患者中,27例患者超声心动图检出赘生物,检出率为71.1%;11例患者超声心动图呈瓣叶增厚;赘生物直径为2~7 mm。42例不典型IE患者中,36例患者超声检出赘生物,检出率为85.7%（36/42）;6例患者超声心动图呈瓣叶增厚;赘生物直径为2~19 mm,其中左心赘生物28例,右心赘生物8例。病例组中2例SLE患者经胸超声心动图检查结果为阴性,经食管超声心动图显示阳性结果确诊;9例合并轻度以上瓣膜反流;10例SLE瓣膜病变者经临床采用激素联合环磷酰胺治疗后狼疮病情稳定;患者最短于治疗后5 d、最长3年超声心动图复查,增厚的瓣膜较前明显缩小至消失。 结论超声心动图可以早期快速发现SLE诱发的NIE瓣膜受累时特征性的非感染性血栓性疣状赘生物。超声心动图可为不典型IE及NIE的后续治疗及疗效观察提供有价值的参考。     

感染性心内膜炎的外科治疗(附41例报告)

目的 总结感染性心内膜炎的外科治疗经验。方法 41例感染性心内膜炎患者均在体外循环下进行病灶清除，同时行瓣膜置换和成形33例。其中主动脉瓣置换11例，二尖瓣置换6例，双瓣膜置换8例，人工瓣再置换3例，三尖瓣修复5例，法乐氏四联症3例；同期处理动脉导管未闭1例，室间隔缺损5例，主动脉窦瘤破裂2例。结果 无手术后早期死亡，1例6个月后死于心衰，1例10个月后复发，余39例恢复良好。结论 外科治疗感染性心内膜炎的疗效良好，手术时机的把握和围手术期的正确处理是治疗成败的关键。     

Infective endocarditis in patients receiving long-term hemodialysis

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the predominant characteristics of patients receiving long-term dialysis who develop infective endocarditis (IE). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed the records of all chronic hemodialysis patients who had IE at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn, between 1983 and 1997. RESULTS: Twenty episodes of IE occurred in 17 patients. One patient had 3 episodes of IE, and 1 patient had 2 episodes of IE; each episode was caused by a different organism. The mean +/- SD age of our patients was 63 +/- 11 years; there were 13 males; 6 patients had diabetes mellitus; and the mean +/- SD duration of hemodialysis prior to IE was 24.2 +/- 20.5 months. This analysis included 10 episodes of IE (occurring in 9 patients) within the Mayo Clinic Dialysis System during which time 223,358 hemodialysis treatments were delivered, giving a rate of 10 IE episode per 223,336 hemodialysis treatments. Among all 20 IE episodes, there were 14 synthetic arteriovenous grafts, 4 permanent venous dialysis catheters, 2 temporary venous dialysis catheters, and 2 native arteriovenous fistulas (2 accesses in 2 patients), and access had been in place for a mean +/- SD of 15.9 +/- 18.6 months. The portal of infection was the hemodialysis access in 13 episodes of IE. The causative organisms for IE were Staphylococcus aureus in 8 cases, Enterococcus sp in 4 cases, viridans streptococcus in 3 cases, Staphylococcus epidermidis in 2 cases, and 1 case each of Streptococcus bovis, group G beta-hemolytic streptococcus, and Aspergillus sp. The mitral valve was involved in 9 cases, the aortic valve was involved in 5 cases, and the tricuspid and pulmonic valves were involved in 1 case each. Patient survival (after the first episode of IE) was 71% at 30 days; 53% at 60 days; and 35% at 1 year. Echocardiography was performed in 19 episodes of IE. The transthoracic echocardiogram was 62.5% sensitive and 40% specific for the presence of definite or probable vegetations. Univariate analysis for factors affecting 60-day survival show that presence of right-sided IE, vegetation size greater than 2.0 cm3, diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, and initial leukocyte count greater than 12.5 x 10(9)/L were poor prognostic factors. Aortic valve involvement carried a better prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Infective endocarditis in hemodialysis patients is relatively infrequent but has a high mortality. Patients with synthetic intravascular dialysis angioaccess (synthetic grafts and venous catheters) are more likely to develop IE than patients with native arteriovenous fistulas. Transesophageal echocardiography is a preferred echocardiographic study for suspected cases of IE. Prolonged antibiotic therapy is needed for all patients, and close monitoring is needed for patients with right-sided IE, large vegetations, diabetes mellitus, and an elevated leukocyte count.     

Infective endocarditis in the intensive care unit: clinical spectrum and prognostic factors in 228 consecutive patients

Objective To identify factors associated with in-hospital outcome of adult patients admitted to the ICU with infective endocarditis (IE). Design and setting Retrospective study performed in the two medical ICUs of a teaching hospital. Patients and participants The charts of all 228 consecutive patients aged 18 years or older admitted with infective IE between January 1993 and December 2000 were reviewed. All patients satisfied the modified Duke’s criteria for definite IE. Measurements and results There were 146 episodes of native valve endocarditis and 82 of prosthetic valve endocarditis. Staphylococcus aureus was the predominant causative micro-organism. Most complications occurred early during the course of IE. One-half of the patients underwent cardiac surgery during the same hospitalization and had a better outcome than nonoperated patients. The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 45% (102/228). Multivariate analysis revealed the following clinical factors in patients with native valve IE as independently associated with outcome: septic shock (odds ratio 4.81), cerebral emboli (3.00), immunocompromised state (2.88), and cardiac surgery (0.475); in patients with prosthetic valve IE the factors were: septic shock (4.07), neurological complications (3.1), and immunocompromised state (3.46). Conclusions IE still carries high morbidity and mortality rates for the subset of patients requiring ICU admission. Most complications occur early making the decision process for optimal medical and surgical management more difficult. Surgical treatment appears to improve in-hospital outcome. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article if you access the article at . A link in the frame on the left on that page takes you directly to the supplementary material.     

感染性心内膜炎误诊研究

目的 :总结感染性心内膜炎 (IE)的临床资料 ,分析误诊情况。方法 :回顾性分析北京协和医院近 10 a收治的 IE6 9例。结果 :误诊 6 3例 ,误诊率为 91.3%。常见误诊病种为上感。先天性主动脉瓣二叶瓣畸形、二尖瓣脱垂及瓣膜退行性变的漏诊为导致 IE误诊的常见原因。UCG在诊断的确立中有举足轻重的地位。导致误诊的最重要原因是对 IE的认识不足。常见误诊治疗为不正规应用抗生素和糖皮质激素。治愈 38例 (5 5 .1% ) ,需手术 2 1例 (30 .4% ) ,死亡 10例(14.5 % )。结论 :IE为误诊率很高的疾病 ,误诊原因有多方面。需提高认识 ,早发现、早治疗 ,最终提高 IE的诊治水平。     

Infectious endocarditis in intravenous drug abusers

Clinical course of infectious endocarditis (IE) was analysed for 43 intravenous drug abusers. 42 of them had primary IE, one patient--secondary. Acute course and high activity of the disease were registered in 86% of the patients. IE was provoked by Staphylococcus aureus (50%), Staphylococcus epidermidis 920%), Staphylococcus haemolyticus (11%), E. coli (8%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2%), Candida albicans (2%), mixed microflora (7%). Vegetations were detected on the tricuspid, mitral and aortic valves (52, 23 and 19%, respectively), on more than one valve (6%). Pneumonia, pleuricy, hydrothorax, enlargement of the liver, spleen, nephritis and anemia were found in 76, 44, 9, 100, 75, 70 and 88% of the patients, respectively. Cardiac failure aggravated the disease in half of the patients, lethality was 18%. Thus, IE in intravenous drug abusers is characterized by a primary form, acute active course, prevalent damage to the tricuspid valve, polyorganic involvement, high lethality. IE cure in such patients is feasible only in adequate antibacterial therapy, timely surgical correction and giving up drug abuse.     

Procalcitonin and C-reactive protein in infective endocarditis: correlation with etiology and prognosis

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic values of serum procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in infective endocarditis (IE) and to correlate them with the etiology of the disease and the prognosis of the patients. METHODS: Fifty patients who were diagnosed as having IE based on Duke criteria (major and/or minor) were included in the study at the Istanbul University Cardiology Institute and Florence Nightingale Hospital. Forty patients with bacteremia (non-IE) and 50 healthy blood donors were also included in the study as the control group. During the 45 days of medical follow-up, in those patients who had a response to medical therapy based on the results of left ventricular function tests, transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and culture, among other factors, PCT and CRP levels were measured in 5-cm(3) blood samples obtained without anticoagulant when they were first admitted (day 0), as well as 24 h and 15, 30 and 45 days after admission. In the patients who had valve replacement, 5-cm(3) blood samples without anticoagulant were similarly obtained on the day of admission, after 24 h and/or on the 15th day, and 1 day before and on the 2nd and 5th days after the operation. RESULTS: In this study, a significant difference (p < 0.001) was found between the IE group and the healthy control group with respect to their serum PCT and CRP levels at the time of admission. No significant difference was found between IE and non-IE groups (p > 0.05). The sensitivity of PCT in comparison to CRP was found to be lower (84 vs. 100%); however, its specificity was determined to be higher (88 vs. 72%). The median values of serum PCT in the nonoperated and operated cases at the time of admission, after 24 h and on the 15th day were 3.71, 5.35 and 0.44, and 2.45, 4.28 and 4.22 ng/ml, respectively, and those of CRP were 9.30, 10.95 and 10.65, and 9.5, 10.9 and 10.2 mg/dl, respectively. The median values of serum PCT were found to be higher in cases with IE and non-IE related to gram-negative bacteria than those related to gram-positive bacteria (p < 0.02). This was found to be insignificant for CRP (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: As a result, this study suggests that in the diagnosis of IE, it would be beneficial to use PCT, besides TEE, culture and other clinical criteria, for its high specificity and positive predictive value in comparison to CRP. This study also suggests that in determining the response to medical treatment in the follow-up period, PCT could be a more valuable parameter than CRP, as PCT has a high prognostic value and is a good indicator for valve replacement in addition to the major criteria. Furthermore, serum PCT levels may help the physician to decide on the antimicrobial therapy combination before obtaining the culture results, or in situations in which the agent could not be isolated yet.