Non-nosocomial Healthcare-Associated Infective Endocarditis: A Distinct Entity? Data From the GAMES Series (2008-2021).

Background: Patients who acquire infective endocarditis (IE) following contact with the healthcare system, but outside the hospital, are classified as having non-nosocomial healthcare-associated IE (HCIE). Our aim was to characterize HCIE and establish whether its etiology, diagnosis, and therapeutic approach suggest it should be considered a distinct entity. Methods: This study retrospectively analyzes data from a nationwide, multicenter, prospective cohort including consecutive cases of IE at 45 hospitals across Spain from 2008 to 2021. HCIE was defined as IE detected in patients in close contact with the healthcare system (eg, patients receiving intravenous treatment, hemodialysis, or institutionalized). The prevalence and main characteristics of HCIE were examined and compared with those of community-acquired IE (CIE) and nosocomial IE (NIE) and with literature data. Results: IE was diagnosed in 4520 cases, of which 2854 (63%) were classified as CIE, 1209 (27%) as NIE, and 457 (10%) as HCIE. Patients with HCIE showed a high burden of comorbidities, a high presence of intravascular catheters, and a predominant staphylococcal etiology, Staphylococcus aureus being identified as the most frequent causative agent (35%). They also experienced more persistent bacteremia, underwent fewer surgeries, and showed a higher mortality rate than those with CIE (32.4% vs 22.6%). However, mortality in this group was similar to that recorded for NIE (32.4% vs 34.9%, respectively, P = .40). Conclusions: Our data do not support considering HCIE as a distinct entity. HCIE affects a substantial number of patients, is associated with a high mortality, and shares many characteristics with NIE.

Design of a new mortality indicator in acute coronary syndrome on admission to the Intensive Care Unit.

OBJECTIVE: To design a mortality indicator in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the intensive care unit (ICU). DESIGN: A multicenter, observational descriptive study was carried out. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with ACS admitted to the ICUs included in the ARIAM-SEMICYUC registry between January 2013 and April 2019. INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN VARIABLES OF INTEREST: Demographic parameters, time of access to the healthcare system, and clinical condition. Revascularization therapy, drugs and mortality were analyzed. Cox regression analysis was performed, followed by the design of a neural network. A receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was plotted to calculate the power of the new score. Lastly, the clinical utility or relevance of the ARIAM indicator (ARIAM's) was assessed using a Fagan test. RESULTS: A total of 17,258 patients were included in the study, with a mortality rate of 3.5% (n = 605) at discharge from the ICU. The variables showing statistical significance (P < .001) were entered into the supervised predictive model, an artificial neural network. The new ARIAM's yielded a mean of 0.0257 (95%CI: 0.0245-0.0267) in patients discharged from the ICU versus 0.27085 (95%CI: 0.2533-0.2886) in those who died (P < .001). The area under the ROC curve of the model was 0.918 (95%CI: 0.907-0.930). Based on the Fagan test, the ARIAM's showed the mortality risk to be 19% (95%CI: 18%-20%) when positive and 0.9% (95%CI: 0.8%-1.01%) when negative. CONCLUSIONS: A new mortality indicator for ACS in the ICU can be established that is more accurate and reproducible, and periodically updated.

Bartonella Endocarditis in Spain: Case Reports of 21 Cases.

Blood culture negative endocarditis (BCNE) is frequent in infective endocarditis (IE). One of the causes of BCNE is fastidious microorganisms, such as Bartonella spp. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiologic, clinical characteristics, management and outcomes of patients with Bartonella IE from the "Spanish Collaboration on Endocarditis-Grupo de Apoyo al Manejo de la Endocarditis infecciosa en España (GAMES)"cohort. Here we presented 21 cases of Bartonella IE. This represents 0.3% of a total of 5590 cases and 2% of the BCNE from the GAMES cohort. 62% were due to Bartonella henselae and 38% to Bartonella quintana. Cardiac failure was the main presenting form (61.5% in B. hensalae, 87.5% in B. quintana IE) and the aortic valve was affected in 85% of the cases (76% in B. henselae, 100% in B. quintana IE). Typical signs such as fever were recorded in less than 40% of patients. Echocardiography showed vegetations in 92% and 100% of the patients with B. henselae and B. quintana, respectively. Culture was positive only in one patient and the remaining were diagnosed by serology and PCR. PCR was the most useful tool allowing for diagnosis in 16 patients (100% of the studied valves). Serology, at titers recommended by guidelines, only coincided with PCR in 52.4%. Antimicrobial therapy, in different combinations, was used in all cases. Surgery was performed in 76% of the patients. No in-hospital mortality was observed. One-year mortality was 9.4%. This article remarks the importance for investigating the presence of Bartonella infection as causative agent in all BCNE since the diagnosis needs specific microbiological tools and patients could benefit of a specific treatment.

Evaluation of 16S rDNA Heart Tissue PCR as a Complement to Blood Cultures for the Routine Etiological Diagnosis of Infective Endocarditis.

Identification of the causative pathogen is required to optimize the effective therapy in infective endocarditis (IE). The aim of this study was to assess a 16S rDNA PCR to identify bacteria from heart valve tissues and to evaluate its usefulness as a complement to blood and removed valves cultures. A total of 266 patients diagnosed with IE from January 2015 to December 2019 were evaluated. Results between 16S rDNA PCR from heart valve tissues were compared with microbiological cultures. Blood cultures were positive in 83.5% of patients diagnosed with IE, while 39.6% and 71.8% of the evaluated heart valve samples were positive by culture and 16S rDNA PCR, respectively. For 32 (12%) patients, 16S rDNA tissue PCR provided valuable information supporting the results of blood cultures in the case of bacteria characteristic from the skin microbiota. Additionally, a microorganism was identified by using 16S rDNA PCR in 36% of blood culture-negative cases. The present study reveals that molecular diagnosis using 16S rDNA tissue PCR provides complementary information for the diagnosis of IE, and it should be recommended in surgical endocarditis, especially when blood cultures are negative.

In vitro activity of ceftaroline and ceftobiprole against clinical isolates of Gram-positive bacteria from infective endocarditis: are these drugs potential options for the initial management of this disease?

The in vitro activity of ceftaroline and ceftobiprole was assessed against 77 Gram-positive bacterial isolates recovered from patients diagnosed with infective endocarditis (IE). Our data confirm that these drugs are highly in vitro active against the most common agents of IE including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci, and Streptococcus spp., with no significant differences between them. Also, ceftaroline and ceftobiprole have demonstrated a good activity against Enterococcus faecalis (MIC90 0.75 µg/mL and 0.5 µg/mL, respectively). The spectrum of these drugs together with the in vitro and in vivo data on them related with IE published in the scientific literature places them as potential options for the initial management of this disease.