Characteristics and Diagnostic Challenge of Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody Positive Infective Endocarditis

ObjectiveAntineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) has been reported in patients with infective endocarditis. Whether ANCA is associated with certain characteristics of infective endocarditis is unclear. The principal aim of this study is to investigate the clinical implications of ANCA in infective endocarditis and highlight the diagnostic challenge in ANCA-positive patients with infective endocarditis.MethodsA retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary hospital in China from August 2012 to December 2021. Patients with a diagnosis of infective endocarditis and available ANCA results were included in the study. The clinical and pathological characteristics were compared between ANCA-positive and ANCA-negative patients.ResultsA total of 237 patients were included. Forty three (18.1%) were ANCA-positive, predominantly c-ANCA/anti-PR3. Compared to ANCA-negative patients, ANCA-positive patients had longer disease duration (P = .004), more frequent purpura (P = .015), macrohematuria (P = .002), proteinuria (P = .043), acute kidney injury (P = .004), and rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (P = .010). Histologic findings of 8 patients with infective endocarditis-associated glomerulonephritis were reviewed. Two ANCA-positive patients with infective endocarditis presented with pauci-immune necrotizing and crescentic glomerulonephritis. A total of 18.6% of ANCA-positive patients with infective endocarditis were misdiagnosed as ANCA-associated vasculitis.ConclusionsANCA is detected in a substantial proportion of patients with infective endocarditis. The presence of ANCA in infective endocarditis is associated with longer disease duration, more frequent purpura, and kidney involvement. ANCA-positive infective endocarditis may mimic ANCA-associated vasculitis, and the differential diagnosis is challenging. Whether ANCA is pathogenic in infective endocarditis-associated small vessel vasculitis requires further study.     

抗中性粒细胞胞质抗体阳性的感染性心内膜炎三例及文献复习

目的 分析抗中性粒细胞胞质抗体(ANCA)阳性的感染性心内膜炎(IE)的临床表现,与ANCA相关小血管炎(AASV)加以鉴别.方法 报告3例ANCA阳性的IE患者的临床特点,结合文献报道的另外13例患者综合分析.结果 16例患者除2例PR3-ANCA、MPO-ANCA均阳性外,其余均仅表现为PR3-ANCA阳性.主要临床表现依次为发热(13/16,占81%);皮疹(8/16,占50%);急进性肾小球肾炎(7/16,占44%);脾肿大(6/16,占38%).病原微生物以链球菌为主(12/14,占86%),16例超声心动图均示瓣膜异常,主动脉瓣和(或)二尖瓣受累达81%.死亡2例(2/16,占13%),分别死于脑出血、脑梗死,其余经敏感抗生素治疗均临床治愈.结论 感染性心内膜炎可呈现AASV的某些表现,临床在解读ANCA检测结果时应对二者仔细鉴别.     

Infective endocarditis in intravenous drug addicts

Infective endocarditis is a frequent complication in intravenous drugs abusers. It is evident that in recent years this problem has increases as a consequence of the growing number of drug addicts. We review the clinical files of patients who entered the Regional General Hospital No. 20 IMSS in the City of Tijuana Mexico between May 1994 and May 1998 with diagnosis of infective endocarditis and had evidence intravenous abuse. Eight patients were included in the study. None of them had preexisting valve abnormalities. The infection involved right-sided values in 62.5% of cases left-sided values in 12.5%, and both sides in 12.5% of cases Staphylococcus aureus was the infecting germ in 50% of the cases. Survival of patients with right infective endocarditis was 75% and only 25% of them required surgical intervention. The mortality of infection in left side was 75% and 100% if infection involved both sides. Infective endocarditis in drugs abusers has a favorable prognosis when right sided valves are affected. Mortality rates are higher in patients with left-sided involvement.     

False positive antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody in a patient with infective endocarditis

We report a gentleman suffering from purpuric skin rash mimicking vasculitis associated with impaired renal function. He was found to have positive cytoplasmic antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (c-ANCA) in the serum, but the test for anti-proteinase 3 antibodies (PR3-ANCA) was negative. Blood culture and echocardiogram confirmed the diagnosis of Streptococcal Oralis infective endocarditis. The renal biopsy did not show any features of vasculitis or crescentic glomerulonephritis. His skin rash subsided and renal function normalized after treatment of the infective endocarditis with appropriate antibiotics. Therefore, we conclude that for those patients presenting with features of vasculitis and a positive ANCA test, other causes, such as infective endocarditis, should be considered.     

The clinical implications and the pathogenetic significance of circulating immune complexes in infective endocarditis

Circulating immune complexes were determined with the ¹²⁵I-Clq binding assay and the conglutinin binding assay in a prospective, longitudinal study of 40 patients with infective endocarditis, 34 patients with endocardial defects and nonseptic fever and 25 patients with septicemia without endocarditis. Fourteen patients with uncomplicated valvular lesions constituted a control group. Upon admission, 63 percent of the patients with infective endocarditis had a positive ¹²⁵I-Clq binding assay versus 9, 12 and 7 percent, respectively, of the other three groups (p < 0.001). The incidence of positive conglutinin binding assays became significantly higher during the course of infective endocarditis (53 percent) than during the course of nonseptic fever (21 percent), but, upon admission, this difference was not significant. The high incidence of Clq-binding immune complexes among patients with infective endocarditis could be attributed mainly to those patients with the characteristic features of subacute endocarditis. The incidence of circulating immune complexes in acute endocarditis was low and did not contribute to making the clinically important distinction from septicemia without endocarditis.A rise in the ¹²⁵I-Clq binding assay levels during the course of infective endocarditis correlated significantly (p < 0.01) with failure of antibiotic treatment. With the ¹²⁵I-Clq binding assay, significantly higher levels were found in patients with signs of renal involvement or cutaneous vasculitis than in patients without these extracardiac manifestations of endocarditis.These results show that the determination of circulating immune complexes has clinical implications for both the diagnosis and the management of infective endocarditis and that circulating immune complexes are probably involved in the development of glomerulonephritis and vasculitis.     

Vasculitis with mesangial IgA deposits complicating relapsing polychondritis

The authors report the case of a patient presenting with cutaneous, renal and neurologic vasculitis in the course of relapsing polychondritis (RPC). A 78-year-old man presented with a palpable purpura of the lower limbs, high fever arthralgias, delirium, and nephrotic syndrome. He had a history of relapsing polychondritis treated by corticosteroids. Renal biopsy showed diffuse endo- and extracapillary proliferative glomerulonephritis with mesangial IgA deposits. A spectacular regression of the symptoms was observed in response to pulse intravenous methylprednisolone. Relapsing polychondritis is complicated by vasculitis in 25% of the cases. This vasculitis is characterized by cutaneous, neurologic and renal manifestations, usually occurring in elderly patients. Renal involvement is characterized by segmental and focal or diffuse necrotizing glomerulonephritis. The mesangial IgA deposits observed in our patient are rarely present in the course of RPC. Renal manifestations identify severe forms of RPC, justifying systematic screening for renal complications.     

The clinical spectrum of necrotizing glomerulonephritis

Twenty patients with necrotizing glomerulonephritis were seen at a general teaching hospital over a 6-year period. These patients represented 5.2% of the histologically verified glomerulonephritis population. Twelve patients had an associated systemic illness (vasculitis in 6, Wegener's granulomatosis in 2, Goodpasture syndrome in 2, infective endocarditis in 1, pulmonary renal syndrome in 1). The clinical course was variable, with equal numbers of patients having rapidly progressive and indolent courses. Four patients (20%) had less than 10% normal glomeruli on renal biopsy and developed end-stage renal failure. Although immunosuppressive and anticoagulant therapy was associated with an improvement in renal function, 6 patients (30%) had died after a mean follow-up period of 25 months.     

Serum Immune Complexes and Disease

Summary: The solid phase Clq radioimmunoassay was used to detect immune complexes in sera from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (14/25), rheumatoid arthritis (4/5), vasculitis (5/15), infective endocarditis (2/2), acute rheumatic fever (2/3), pre-eclamptic toxaemia (0/14), lung cancer (3/7), glomerulonephritis (26/98) and renal transplant patients (0/5). The best correlation with disease activity was seen in systemic lupus erythematosus and infective endocarditis where serial immune complex determinations were clearly of value in monitoring therapy. The findings in primary glomerulonephritis indicate only a limited usefulness of the assay in that serum immune complexes were detected in a minority (22/73) of patients with glomerular immune deposits. In particular the data do not support a role for Clq fixing immune complexes in the pathogenesis of membranous glomerulonephritis or in pre-eclamptic toxaemia.     

先天性心脏病合并感染性心内膜炎的个体化治疗

目的：探讨先天性心脏病（CHD）合并感染性心内膜炎（IE）的个体化治疗。方法：本组病例共73例,主要表现为发热、贫血、栓塞等;血培养及赘生物培养阳性17例（23.3%）,以草绿色链球菌居多,病原体菌种呈现多样化趋势。超声心动图检查阳性率83.6%（61例）。病灶分布以主动脉瓣病变（33例）,二尖瓣病变（21）例为多。所有患者均经外科手术清除感染病灶及赘生物,并相应纠治瓣膜病变和心脏畸形。其中择期手术54例（74.0%）,急诊手术19例（26.0%）。血培养阳性病例应用大剂量敏感广谱抗生素4～8周。结果：本组无手术死亡,均经手术及抗生素治疗后临床痊愈出院。术后随访心功能改善,仅1例1年后心内膜炎复发。结论：大剂量敏感广谱抗生素治疗与积极的相应外科治疗相结合的个体化处理是治疗先天性心脏病合并感染性心内膜炎的重要手段,对提高存活率、降低病死率有着重要的意义。     

Procalcitonin in 759 Patients Clinically Suspected of Infective Endocarditis

Background

Diagnostic delay contributes to high morbidity and mortality in infective endocarditis. A readily available diagnostic marker of infective endocarditis is desirable. S-procalcitonin has been proposed as a candidate, but data on its yield are conflicting. We tested its diagnostic value in a large population of patients seen in a tertiary center.

Methods

This prospective study included 759 consecutive patients referred for echocardiographic examination on clinical suspicion of infective endocarditis. Transthoracic echocardiography was followed by immediate transesophageal examination, and a blood sample was obtained for procalcitonin analysis. Infective endocarditis was diagnosed by an interdisciplinary team and confirmed according to the Duke criteria. The team was unaware of the results of procalcitonin analyses.

Results

Infective endocarditis was present in 147 patients (19%). Procalcitonin was higher in these patients than in those in whom infective endocarditis was rejected (median, 0.21 ng/mL vs. 0.13 ng/mL; P <.0005). Multivariate analysis identified significant independent determinants of high procalcitonin: blood culture with endocarditis-typical microorganisms (odds ratio [OR], 2.81), temperature ≥38°C (OR, 2.61), symptoms ≤5 days (OR, 2.39), immunocompromised status (OR, 1.74), and male gender (OR, 1.61). Tests at various procalcitonin thresholds yielded an acceptable sensitivity of 95% at 0.04 ng/mL, but specificity was only 14%. Only 12% had procalcitonin below this threshold, which might justify postponement of further examinations for infective endocarditis.

Conclusions

Procalcitonin was significantly higher in patients with infective endocarditis than in patients without infective endocarditis and bacteremia with endocarditis-typical organisms was the strongest independent determinant of high procalcitonin. The clinical importance of this is questionable, because a suitable procalcitonin threshold for diagnosing or excluding infective endocarditis was not established.     

Superior vena cava and right atrium wall infective endocarditis in patients receiving hemodialysis

Infective endocarditis is significantly more common and causes greater morbidity and mortality in patients receiving hemodialysis than in the general population. Episodes of bacteremia during hemodialysis are primarily the result of frequent vascular access through an arteriovenous fistula, a vascular graft, or an indwelling vascular catheter. This leads to dialysis access infection and secondary bacteremia. We describe 4 cases of patients receiving hemodialysis, with an indwelling intravascular dialysis catheter, who developed right-sided endocarditis with vegetations located exclusively on the superior vena cava and right atrium wall. All patients had persistent bacteremia with Staphylococcus, secondary to an indwelling intravascular hemodialysis catheter, which led to seeding of the right-sided cardiac wall, causing infective endocarditis. The rates of acceptance for hemodialysis are increasing, along with improved survival in this group of patients. This will probably lead to an increase in the incidence of infective endocarditis, with atypical presentations such as superior vena cava and right-sided cardiac wall endocarditis.     

Infective endocarditis in patients with end-stage renal disease: clinical presentation and outcome

BACKGROUND: Infective endocarditis is a common complication of vascular access in patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis. However, available data are either dated or gathered from small samples. The goal of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics and outcome of infective endocarditis occurring in patients with end-stage renal disease. METHODS: Patients were identified by computerized discharge diagnosis and manual chart review at 3 major hospitals in Honolulu, Hawaii. The search covered an 11-year period, through December 2001. Modified Duke criteria were retrospectively applied. Patients fulfilling criteria for definite endocarditis were included in this study. RESULTS: Forty patients were identified. Average age was 59.4 years, and average duration of hemodialysis before endocarditis was 3.3 years; arteriovenous fistulas were the most commonly used access sites. Predominant organism was Staphylococcus aureus in 20 (50%) of the 40 cases. The mitral valve was affected in 29 cases (73%); aortic and mitral valve endocarditis was seen in 8 cases (20%). Overall in-hospital mortality was 52% (21/40). Patients with an unfavorable outcome more often had fever on admission, fewer negative blood cultures, and bivalvular infective endocarditis, and more often underwent valve replacement surgery. The perioperative mortality in patients undergoing valve replacement was 73% (11/15). CONCLUSIONS: Mortality of infective endocarditis in patients with end-stage renal disease remains high and has been essentially unchanged during the past decade. If patients require valve replacement surgery, mortality is even higher. A randomized, controlled trial is needed to clarify whether the increased mortality is due solely to more severe disease in patients requiring valve replacement surgery.     

Clinical profile and one-year outcomes of patients with mural infective endocarditis: – A tertiary care centre study based on data from a seven-year registry

BackgroundInfective endocarditis patients present very rarely with vegetations on the mural endocardium. Only very few studies are available comparing Mural infective endocarditis with commoner valvular or device related infective endocarditis.AimTo analyse the clinical features, microbiological profile and clinical course of mural endocarditis in comparison to valvular endocarditis.MethodsThis was a retrospective analysis of data from a registry of infective endocarditis. Patients enrolled between April 2012 and April 2019 were included. Patients who were reported to have vegetations on the mural endocardial surface were taken as a group and compared with rest of the patients. Clinical profile, laboratory parameters including culture and outcomes were compared between the two groups.ResultsOut of 278 patients in the study, 15 (5.38%) had vegetations on the mural endocardium. Of them, only 4 patients had structural heart diseases. All the patients with mural endocarditis were NYHA class II or below at presentation. Ventricles were the commonest sites of vegetations. Inflammatory markers like ESR and CRP were low in mural endocarditis compared to rest. Culture positivity was high in mural endocarditis and Staphylococcus Aureus was the commonest organism. Mural endocarditis patients had similar in hospital mortality to rest of the patients. Cardiac complications were not reported in mural endocarditis, but they had similar incidence of embolic complications including neurological events.ConclusionMural endocarditis is a rare clinical entity with similar morbidity and mortality to that of endocarditis with valvular vegetation.     

Infective Endocarditis After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement

BackgroundInfective endocarditis may affect patients after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to provide detailed information on incidence rates, types of microorganisms, and outcomes of infective endocarditis after TAVR.MethodsBetween February 2011 and July 2018, consecutive patients from the SwissTAVI Registry were eligible. Infective endocarditis was classified into early (peri-procedural [<100 days] and delayed-early [100 days to 1 year]) and late (>1 year) endocarditis. Clinical events were adjudicated according to the Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 endpoint definitions.ResultsDuring the observational period, 7,203 patients underwent TAVR at 15 hospitals in Switzerland. During follow-up of 14,832 patient-years, endocarditis occurred in 149 patients. The incidence for peri-procedural, delayed-early, and late endocarditis after TAVR was 2.59, 0.71, and 0.40 events per 100 person-years, respectively. Among patients with early endocarditis, Enterococcus species were the most frequently isolated microorganisms (30.1%). Among those with peri-procedural endocarditis, 47.9% of patients had a pathogen that was not susceptible to the peri-procedural antibiotic prophylaxis. Younger age (subhazard ratio [SHR]: 0.969; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.944 to 0.994), male sex (SHR: 1.989; 95% CI: 1.403 to 2.818), lack of pre-dilatation (SHR: 1.485; 95% CI: 1.065 to 2.069), and treatment in a catheterization laboratory as opposed to hybrid operating room (SHR: 1.648; 95% CI: 1.187 to 2.287) were independently associated with endocarditis. In a case-control matched analysis, patients with endocarditis were at increased risk of mortality (hazard ratio: 6.55; 95% CI: 4.44 to 9.67) and stroke (hazard ratio: 4.03; 95% CI: 1.54 to 10.52).ConclusionsInfective endocarditis after TAVR most frequently occurs during the early period, is commonly caused by Enterococcus species, and results in considerable risks of mortality and stroke. (NCT01368250)     

Infective endocarditis: 10-year experience in a non-cardiovascular center

Background and objective:Infective endocarditis (IE) is an infection with a poor prognosis, and an associated in-hospital mortality of at least 25%. Optimal therapy of IE requires long-term effective antibiotic therapy and valve surgery in many cases. The aim of this study was to review the demographics, bacteriology, and outcomes of patients with IE admitted to a tertiary referral center in Mexico City, over a 10-year period.Methods:Retrospective cohort study of patients admitted at Instituto Nacional Salvador Zubiran with a new diagnosis of IE over a 10-year period, from January 2009 to January 2019. Patients who met the definition for definitive diagnosis of infective endocarditis according to the modified Duke criteria were included in the study.Results:There were 62 patients (50.85 ± 17.46 years, 40.3% females) with IE. The culprit microorganism was identified in all cases, with Staphylococcus aureus being the most frequently found (34%). Valve surgery was performed in 58.1%, while 41.9% only received medical treatment. The mortality rate was 25.8% at 30 days and 41.9% at 12 months. Comparing the surgical and medical treatment groups, we found that 50% and 36% in each group, respectively, had died within 12 months of admission.Conclusions:Our center has a high prevalence of health care-associated endocarditis, mostly related to the presence of intravascular access devices. Most of the patients had a surgical indication. Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and decreased right ventricular systolic function had an increased mortality rate at 12 months.Key words: Infective endocarditis, Health care-associated endocarditis, Heart valve disease     

Workup and Management of Native and Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis

Infective endocarditis (IE) is associated with significant serious adverse outcomes including death. IE usually presents with diverse clinical picture and syndromic diagnoses including heart failure, stroke, and peripheral embolization. Given variable, vague, and syndromic presentations, the diagnosis of IE may be delayed for days to weeks. Maintaining a high index of suspicion among clinicians is the key to early recognition of the disease and prompt initiation of antimicrobial therapy to prevent IE-associated mortality and morbidity. Blood culture and echocardiography remain essential tools in the diagnosis of infective endocarditis. However, advances in molecular techniques, serology testing, computed tomography scan, and nuclear medicine have led to growth in the available tools that may aid in early diagnosis of infective endocarditis. Antimicrobial agents are the mainstay of IE therapy; however, as many as 50% of endocarditis cases will undergo valve surgery, even on an urgent or emergent basis.     

Infective endocarditis in renal transplant recipients

Because of the increasing number of renal transplantations performed and the rarity of reported cases of infective endocarditis in these patients, we studied the clinical characteristics of this infection in this population. We report on two cases from our experience and review reported cases of infective endocarditis in renal transplant recipients retrieved from the MEDLINE system. In addition, we reviewed a large series of infective endocarditis looking for patients with renal transplants. In addition to our 2 cases, 12 previously reported cases were found. The mean time from transplantation to diagnosis of infective endocarditis was 3.5 years (range 2 months to 15 years). Causative organisms included fungi, Staphylococcus aureus (3 cases each), Corynebacterium sp. (2 cases), Streptococcus viridans, VRE, Brucella sp., Clostridium sp., Nocardia sp. and Erysipelothrix sp. (one case each). Skin manifestations of endocarditis and/or splenomegaly were not reported in these patients. Septic emboli and mycotic aneurysms were relatively common. The overall mortality rate was 50% (7 of 14 patients died). Infective endocarditis seems to be rare in renal transplant recipients. The few reported cases are characterized by unusual causative micro-organisms and atypical clinical presentation. Further studies are needed to delineate the magnitude and scope of this association.     

Cardiobacterium hominis and endocarditis. Rare but important clinical relevance

Infective endocarditis is a severe disease with high morbidity rate. Cardiobacterium hominis (CH) is a member of the HACEK group of microorganisms. We show the case of a man of 56 years with infective endocarditis on a native mitral valve, sustained by C. hominis. The relevance of this case is based on the fact that infections sustained by CH, even if not so frequent (about 1–3% of all cases), are a possible cause of infective endocarditis with important clinical consequences.