Endocarditis: Who Is Particularly at Risk and Why? Ten Years Analysis of Risk Factors for In-hospital Mortality in Infective Endocarditis

Abstract

Abstract Background Endocarditis is continuously increasing. Evidence exist that the prognosis is adversely affected by the extent of the disease. We looked at risk factors influencing in-hospital mortality (HM). Patients and Methods Between 2010 and 2019, 484 patients, 338 males (69.8%) with mean age of 66.1 years were operated on because of proven endocarditis. In a retrospective study, a risk factor analysis was performed. Results Overall HM was 30.17%. Significant influencing factors (odds ratios [ORs] or p-value) for HM were: age (p = 0.004), logistic EuroSCORE (p< 0.001), gender (OR = 1.64), dialysis (OR = 2.64), hepatic insufficiency (OR = 2.17), reoperation (OR = 1.77), previously implanted valve (OR = 1.97), periannular abscess (OR = 9.26), sepsis on admission (OR = 12.88), and number of involved valves (OR = 1.96). Development of a sepsis and HM was significantly lower if Streptococcus mitis was the main pathogen in contrast to other bacteria (p< 0.001). Staphylococcus aureus was significantly more often found in patients with a previously implanted prosthesis (p = 0.03) and in recurrent endocarditis (p = 0.02), while it significantly more often showed peripheral septic emboli than the other pathogens (p< 0.001). Conclusion Endocarditis remains life-threatening. Severe comorbidities adversely affected early outcome, particularly, in presence of periannular abscesses. Patients with suspected endocarditis should be admitted to a specialized heart center as early as possible. Streptococcus mitis appears to be less virulent than S. aureus. Further studies are required to verify these findings.