[Endocarditis team in the Scania region - experiences from the first year]. / Multidisciplinärt endokarditteam på plats i Skåne - Första årets erfarenhet visar riktningen framåt.

ABSTRACT

International guidelines recommend that the treatment of patients with infective endocarditis (IE) should be directed by a multidisciplinary endocarditis team. The aim of this study was to describe the first-year experience of multidisciplinary rounds by the endocarditis team in Scania, Sweden. This was a retrospective study on all possible and definitive IE episodes that were assessed by the endocarditis team from January 1st to December 31st, 2017. Descriptive statistics were used. A total of 145 multidisciplinary rounds were held and addressed 100 episodes in 97 patients. The median age was 71 years and 66% were males. The most common causative pathogens were alpha-hemolytic streptococci, Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase-negative staphylococci, and enterococci. The endocarditis team recommended surgery in 40 % of episodes. The transfer of patients between different hospitals was facilitated by the team.  The IE team evaluated a large proportion of patients with IE in the region and provided a rapid expert opinion on the optimal management of complicated cases of IE.