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。     

经胸与经食管超声心动图对感染性心内膜炎的诊断价值比较

  目的  比较经胸超声心动图(transthoracic echocardiography, TTE)和经食管超声心动图(transesophageal echocardiography, TEE)诊断感染性心内膜炎(infective endocarditis, IE)的准确性。  方法  回顾性分析2003年1月至2011年12月北京协和医院诊断的95例IE患者的临床及超声心动图特点, 比较TTE和TEE对赘生物和IE相关并发症的检出率, 并以TEE作为诊断IE的标准来评价TTE诊断的准确性。  结果  TEE对赘生物的阳性检出率显著高于TTE(81.1%比52.6%, P < 0.001);若以TEE阳性作为诊断IE的标准, 则TTE检出赘生物的敏感性为64.9%, 特异性为94.4%;TEE对IE瓣周并发症诊断的敏感性也显著高于TTE(P < 0.05)。  结论  TTE对赘生物检出的阳性率较低; TEE不仅在检出赘生物方面较TTE更敏感, 对IE瓣周并发症诊断的敏感性也更高。     

Predictive value of echocardiography in infectious endocarditis

182 patients with infectious endocarditis (IE) were examined for correlations between valvular bacterial vegetations and IE activity, course, results of bacteriological and morphological findings. 81 of the patients had primary IE, 71 patients had secondary IE which had developed in uncorrected valvular heart disease, in 30 patients secondary IE had developed after surgical correction of rheumatic heart disease. It is shown that echocardiographic detection of bacterial vegetations does not determine IE severity, course and outcome.     

超声心动图诊断感染性心内膜炎的意义

目的　探讨感染性心内膜炎 (IE)患者的超声心动图的特征性改变及诊断意义。方法　 17例IE患者进行了经胸超声心动图检查 ,探测赘生物的位置 ,大小 ,活动度及瓣膜功能。结果　男 11例 ,女 6例。平均年龄 3 4岁 (年龄范围 2～76岁 )。超声心动图检查发现 16例自身瓣膜和 1例人工瓣膜有赘生物形成 ,其中 7个二尖瓣 ,9个主动脉瓣和 1个三尖瓣上有赘生物。平均赘生物大小 0 .8cm (范围 0 .3～ 1.6cm)。血培养葡萄球菌 4例 ,链球菌 4例 ,类酵母菌 1例 ,血培养阳性率 5 3 %。住院期间 4例死亡 (2 3 % ) ,11例充血性心衰 (64 % ) ,6例体循环栓塞 (3 5 % ) ,4例接受了瓣膜置换术 (2 3 % )。结论　超声心动图检测IE声像图观察比较直观 ,尤其在血培养阴性的IE患者尤为有用。超声心动图能探测到瓣膜的赘生物 ,提示严重心衰 ,对于需要早期外科手术的IE患者提供重要依据     

Echocardiography--prognosis of the course of infectious endocarditis and long-term survival in this disease

AIM: To determine prognostic opportunities of echocardiography (ECG) in infectious endocarditis (IE) basing on the assessment of microbial vegetations size and degree of valvular failure. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Of 114 patients with definite IE (72 male, 42 female), 90 ones had primary and 24 secondary endocarditis. The prospective study included all the survivors in the IE active stage--78 patients. RESULTS: Vegetations > 1 cm in size were detected in 50.8% patients, < 1 cm--in 49.2%. Hospital lethality in vegetations > 1 cm and < 1 cm was 25.8 and 16.1%, respectively. Thromboembolism rate was 81 and 64.2%, respectively. One-year survival was 78.7 and 71.4%, two-year survival 66.5 and 61.7%, three-year survival 66.5 and 49.4%, five-year survival--51.7 and 32.9% in vegetations < 1 cm and > 1 cm, respectively. Valvular regurgitation of the first degree was in 17.5%, of the second degree--in 41.9%, third-fourth degree--in 36.6% patients. Hospital lethality in mitral valve failure was 32.1%, in aortic and tricuspid failure--17.8 and 11.4%, respectively. CONCLUSION: EchoCG was most effective for predicting thromboembolism and cardiac failure. Valvular regurgitation of the third-fourth degree significantly correlates with severe cardiac failure. ECG is less informative for predicting hospital lethality.     

Sensitivity of transthoracic versus transesophageal echocardiography for the detection of native valve vegetations in the modern era.

BACKGROUND: Thirteen years ago, transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) was found to be less sensitive than transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) for native valve vegetations. Since then, harmonic imaging and other advances have improved TTE. How this affects the sensitivity of TTE is unknown. METHODS: Fifty patients with echocardiography-diagnosed endocarditis had TTE and TEE examinations on high-end machines. These were matched for date of study with 50 patients who had TTE and TEE examinations that were negative for vegetations. RESULTS: A total of 51 vegetations were seen on TEE. The sensitivity of TTE for vegetations was only 55% (aortic 50% [12/24]; mitral 62% [16/26]; tricuspid 0% [0/1]). Anatomic valvular abnormalities did not alter the sensitivity of TTE (P =.42 for mitral; P =.97 for aortic valves). However, larger vegetations were more likely to be found by TTE. CONCLUSION: Despite advances in imaging during 12 years, TTE is still insensitive compared with TEE for the detection of native valve vegetations, and fails to demonstrate nearly half of them.     

Utility of cardiac computed tomography scanning in the diagnosis and pre-operative evaluation of patients with infective endocarditis

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is the gold standard imaging study used in the diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE). Computed tomography angiography (CTA) has undergone rapid advancement as a cardiac imaging technique and has previously shown promise in small non-randomized studies for evaluation of IE. We hypothesized that cardiac CTA would perform similarly to TEE in the detection of endocarditic lesions and that there would be no difference in clinical outcomes whether the coronary arteries were evaluated by CTA or invasive coronary angiography (ICA). 255 adults who underwent surgery for IE at the Mayo Clinic Rochester between January 1, 2006 and June 1, 2014 were identified retrospectively. 251 patients underwent TEE and 34 patients underwent cardiac CTA. TEE had statistically higher detection of vegetations (95.6 vs. 70.0%, p?<?0.0001) and leaflet perforations (81.3 vs. 42.9%, p?=?0.02) as compared to cardiac CTA. For detection of abscess/pseudoaneurysm TEE had a similar sensitivity to cardiac CTA (90.5 vs. 78.4%, p?=?0.21). There was no significant difference in peri-operative outcomes whether coronary arteries were evaluated by CTA or ICA. The greatest advantage of cardiac CT in the setting of IE is its ability to couple the detection of complex cardiac anatomic abnormalities with coronary artery delineation, serving two important components of the diagnostic evaluation, particularly among patients who will require surgical intervention due to IE complications. Cardiac CTA may be considered as an alternate coronary artery imaging modality in IE patients with low to intermediate risk of disease but meet guideline recommendations for coronary artery imaging.     

Infective bicuspid aortic valve endocarditis causing acute severe regurgitation and heart failure: A case report

BACKGROUNDInfective endocarditis (IE) is an uncommon but potentially life-threatening infection, which occasionally develops into acute severe valve insufficiency leading to the onset of heart failure, and necessitates timely intervention. However, the variable and atypical clinical manifestations always make the early detection of IE difficult and challenging.CASE SUMMARYA 45-year-old female who was previously healthy presented with exertional shortness of breath and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea. She also suffered from a significant decrease in exercise capacity, whereas her body temperature was normal. She had severe hypoxemia and hypotension along with a marked aortic valve murmur. Diffuse pulmonary edema and bilateral pleural effusion were observed on both chest X-ray and computed tomography scan. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed immediately and revealed severe regurgitation of the bicuspid aortic valve. Transesophageal echocardiography was further performed and vegetations were detected. In addition to adequate medical therapy and ventilation support, the patient underwent urgent and successful aortic valve replacement. Her symptoms were significantly relieved and the postoperative chest X-ray showed that pulmonary edema was significantly reduced. Histopathology of the resected valve and positive microorganism culture of the surgical specimen provided evidence of definite IE.CONCLUSIONIE should be considered in critical patients with refractory heart failure caused by severe bicuspid aortic valve regurgitation.     

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.     

超声心动图诊断先天性心脏病合并感染性心内膜炎的价值

目的 探讨超声心动图在先天性心脏病(CHD)合并感染性心内膜炎(IE)中的诊断价值.方法 分析16例CHD合并IE患者的超声心动图特点并与手术结果对照.结果 超声心动图显示赘生物10例,最小0.5 cm,最大2.0 cm;其附着部位及大小与手术结果相符.超声诊断IE阳性率达62%(10/16).赘生物超声漏诊6例,其中5例小于0.4 cm.血培养阳性8例,阳性率50%(8/16).结论 超声心动图诊断心内原发畸形准确率高,对0.4 cm以上的心内赘生物有较高的诊断敏感性及准确性;对瓣膜穿孔、关闭不全等IE并发症可作出准确判断,是CHD合并IE的主要诊断依据.     

Anti-clumping factor A immunoglobulin reduces the duration of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia in an experimental model of infective endocarditis

SA-IGIV is a human polyclonal immunoglobulin containing elevated levels of antibodies specific for the fibrinogen-binding MSCRAMM protein clumping factor A (ClfA). In vitro, SA-IGIV specifically recognized ClfA that was expressed on the surface of Staphylococcus aureus and inhibited bacterial adherence to immobilized human fibrinogen by >95%. Moreover, SA-IGIV efficiently opsonized ClfA-coated fluorescent beads and facilitated phagocytosis by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes. To determine its potential therapeutic efficacy, SA-IGIV was evaluated in combination with vancomycin in a rabbit model of catheter-induced aortic valve infective endocarditis (IE) caused by methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). The combination therapy was more effective than vancomycin alone in sterilizing all valvular vegetations when used therapeutically during early (12-h) IE. The combination therapy resulted in clearance of bacteremia that was significantly faster than that of vancomycin alone in animals with well-established (24-h) IE. Therefore, in both early and well-established MRSA IE, the addition of SA-IGIV to a standard antibiotic regimen (vancomycin) increased bacterial clearance from the bloodstream and/or vegetations.     

The diagnostic ability of echocardiography for infective endocarditis and its associated complications

Echocardiography, transthoracic and transoesophageal, plays a key role in the diagnosis and prognosis assessment of patients with infective endocarditis. It constitutes a major Duke criterion and is pivotal in treatment guiding. Seven echocardiographic findings are major criteria in the diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) (vegetation, abscess, pseudoaneurysm, fistulae, new dehiscence of a prosthetic valve, perforation and valve aneurysm). Echocardiography must be performed as soon as endocarditis is suspected. Transoesophageal echocardiography should be done in most cases of left-sided endocarditis to better define the anatomic lesions and to rule out local complications. Transoesophageal echocardiography is not necessary in isolated right-sided native valve IE with good quality transthoracic examination and unequivocal echocardiographic findings. Echocardiography is a very useful tool to assess the prognosis of patients with IE at any time during the course of the disease. Echocardiographic predictors of poor outcome include presence of periannular complications, prosthetic dysfunction, low left ventricular ejection fraction, pulmonary hypertension and very large vegetations.     

二尖瓣脱垂与感染性心内膜炎38例患者的临床分析

目的分析二尖瓣脱垂患者中感染性心内膜炎的临床和超声心动图特点。方法本院1988年1月至2006年12月住院原发性二尖瓣脱垂(MVP)并发感染性心内膜炎(IE)患者共38例,回顾分析其临床资料。结果MVP并发IE占同期IE发病总数的15.0%,均有发热、心尖部3～4级收缩期杂音。20例(52.6%)有Osler结或肢端皮下出血,15例(39.5%)有大动脉栓塞表现。50%有白细胞增高,平均12.06×109/L;95.7%的病例红细胞沉降率加快,平均48.2 mm/h。11例(28.9%)有不同程度贫血。血培养阳性者20例(52.6%),多为链球菌(80.0%)。二尖瓣前叶脱垂者占78.9%,后叶脱垂者占39.5%,前后叶均脱垂者占18.4%,发现二尖瓣前叶有赘生物者占71.1%,后叶有赘生物者占26.3%;无赘生物者5例,占13.2%,前后叶均有赘生物者5例,占13.2%。1例因脑疝导致死亡。结论MVP是IE的常见病因,其临床特点为起病隐匿,体循环栓塞等并发症的发生率较高。超声心动图检查对于诊断具有重要价值,经食管超声心动图检查对于发现瓣膜赘生物有较高敏感性。     

A commercially available multiplex real-time PCR for detection of pathogens in cardiac valves from patients with infective endocarditis

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a life-threatening condition, burdened by high mortality. Current guidelines recommend that, in case of negative culture result, tissues from excised heart valves or vegetations from patients with suspected IE should be referred for broad-range bacterial PCR and sequencing. In this proof-of-concept study, the diagnostic utility of the commercially available multiplex real-time PCR system SeptiFast (SF), performed on cardiac valves, was evaluated in a selected population of 20 patients with definite IE of known origin, in comparison with culture. A significant difference was found between SF and culture in the rate of pathogen detection (19 versus 3 respectively; chi-square 14.06; P = 0.0002). SF sensitivity was 95%; specificity, 100%; positive predictive value (PPV), 100%; and negative predictive value (NPV), 83.3%. Culture sensitivity was 15%; specificity, 100%; PPV, 100%; and NPV, 22.7%. SF assay, performed on culture-negative excised heart valves, can be useful for the etiological diagnosis of IE.     

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.     

Tricuspid valve endocarditis: Cardiovascular imaging evaluation and management

Right-sided infective endocarditis is an increasingly recognized disease entity, with tricuspid valve being most frequently involved. Risk factors for tricuspid valve endocarditis (TVIE) include intravenous drug use, cardiac implantable electronic devices and indwelling catheters. Staphylococcus aureus is the predominant causative organism in TVIE. The diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) is based on clinical manifestations, blood cultures, and the presence of valvular vegetations detected by echocardiography. Complementary imaging is helpful when there is ongoing clinical suspicion for IE following initially negative echocardiography. Multislice computed tomography allows for assessment of extra-cardiac complications in TVIE, including pulmonary septic emboli. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography and radiolabelled white blood cell, single-photon emission computed tomography provide important clinical information concerning the presence of IE in right-sided prosthetic valves or cardiac implantable electronic devices. The aim of this review is to provide an update on TVIE, discussing the role of multimodality imaging in TVIE and the management of these patients.     

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194例的临床和病原学特点

目的 分析血培养阳性的感染性心内膜炎(infective endocantitis,IE)患者的临床及病原学特点,为合理使用抗菌药物提供依据.方法 回顾性分析武汉亚洲心脏病医院2014年1月-2018年12月收治的194例血培养阳性的IE患者病历资料,包括年龄、性别、临床表现及病原学检查结果 等.结果 194例血培养阳...     

Transthoracic Echocardiography Is Still Useful in the Initial Evaluation of Patients With Suspected Infective Endocarditis: Evaluation of a Large Cohort at a Tertiary Referral Center

ObjectivesTo examine the sensitivity of contemporary transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) for the detection of vegetation, abscess cavity, or prosthetic valve dehiscence (Vg) in patients with suspected infective endocarditis (IE) and to identify whether a relatively normal initial TTE finding can be effectively used as a rule out test, obviating the need for transesophageal echocardiography (TEE).Patients and MethodsWe evaluated clinical, microbiological, and echocardiographic data for all patients with suspected IE referred for both TTE and TEE between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2010. Patients were stratified into 3 groups by baseline TTE findings: negative TTE (native valves with less than or equal to mild regurgitation and no Vg), equivocal TTE (no Vg but prosthetic valve or greater than mild native valvular regurgitation), and positive TTE (Vg detected).ResultsWe studied 622 consecutive patients (68% male; mean ± SD age, 62±17 years), including 256 with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB). The presence of Vg was confirmed by TEE in 141 patients (23%). The TTE had low sensitivity for the detection of Vg (58%). A total of 271 patients (44%) had an initial negative TTE. Of these, TEE demonstrated Vg in only 8 patients (negative predictive value [NPV] of negative TTE, 97%). The negative TTE group included 132 patients with SAB, only 6 of whom had Vg (NPV, 95%). Of 265 patients with equivocal TTE, Vg was demonstrated in 51 (19%).ConclusionIn a hospital population with clinically suspected IE, TTE had low sensitivity for the detection of Vg; however, a negative initial TTE was a common finding, with a high NPV, even in the setting of SAB. A TEE may be avoided in many patients with suspected IE.     

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.