Introduction The first descriptions of endocarditis appeared in the literature in the 1600s at a time when the anatomy and physiology of the heart was still incompletely characterized [ ]. Since that time, significant progress in medicine, including advances in…
Introduction Infective endocarditis (IE) is a morbid disease that requires meticulous clinical assessment and risk stratification in the early stages of illness [ ]. Outcomes are impacted by multiple factors: patient characteristics, virulence of the infecting microorganism, severity of illness…
Introduction Infective endocarditis (IE) is a bacterial or fungal infection of the heart valves and lining that Jean François Fernel first mentioned nearly 500 years ago (1554). William Osler described the disease in detail in a series of lectures in…
Introduction Neurologic sequelae are among the most common and devastating complications of infective endocarditis (IE) with an incidence varying between 10% and 75% [ ] and mortality ranging between 20% and 58% [ ]. In particular, mortality is higher in…
Introduction Infective endocarditis (IE) has remained stable over time, however, the type of IE and rate of surgical intervention has changed. Patients are now more elderly, rheumatic heart disease is less common and invasive cardiac procedures with implantations are increasing.…
Introduction Infective endocarditis can be associated with several clinical and anatomic complications. Among these is aortic root abscess. Aortic root abscess is defined by the presence of necrotic tissue in the aortic root, annulus, or as aortoventricular discontinuity. In this…
Introduction Heart valve infections are a quite uncommon pathology with an estimated annual incidence of 3–10 cases in 100,000 in a normal population. With a mortality standing between 15% and 30% (according to clinical circumstances and to the infective organism)…
Epidemiology Infective endocarditis of a native valve is relatively rare with the incidence reported as roughly 2–10 cases per 100,000 person-years by several sources [ , ]. However, the burden of the disease remains large because of the high morbidity…
Introduction Right-sided infective endocarditis (RSIE) most commonly occurs in the setting of intravenous drug use (IVDU) and has taken on increasing surgical significance as the opioid crisis has driven increased abuse of intravenous heroin [ , ]. Surgery for RSIE,…
Overview of indications and timing for surgery The indications and timing of surgery for infective endocarditis (IE) is complex and nuanced. General considerations in deciding whether to operate and when to operate include the difference between left- and right-sided pathology,…