Diabetes mellitus is associated to high-risk late gadolinium enhancement and worse outcomes in patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with a worse prognosis in patients with heart failure. Our aim was to analyze the clinical and imaging features of patients with DM and their association with outcomes in comparison to nondiabetic patients in a cohort of patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). METHODS: This is a prospective cohort study of patients with DCM evaluated in a tertiary care center from 2018 to 2021. Transthoracic echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance findings were assessed. A high-risk late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) pattern was defined as epicardial, transmural, or septal plus free-wall. The primary outcome was a composite of heart failure hospitalizations and all-cause mortality. Multivariable analyses were performed to evaluate the impact of DM on outcomes. RESULTS: We studied 192 patients, of which 51 (26.6%) had DM. The median left ventricular ejection fraction was 30%, and 106 (55.2%) had LGE. No significant differences were found in systolic function parameters between patients with and without DM. E/e values were higher (15 vs. 11.9, p = 0.025), and both LGE (68.6% vs. 50.4%; p = 0.025) and a high-risk LGE pattern (31.4% vs. 18.5%; p = 0.047) were more frequently found in patients with DM. The primary outcome occurred more frequently in diabetic patients (41.2% vs. 23.6%, p = 0.017). DM was an independent predictor of outcomes (OR 2.01; p = 0.049) and of LGE presence (OR 2.15; p = 0.048) in the multivariable analysis. Patients with both DM and LGE had the highest risk of events (HR 3.1; p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: DM is related to a higher presence of LGE in DCM patients and is an independent predictor of outcomes. Patients with DM and LGE had a threefold risk of events. A multimodality imaging approach allows better risk stratification of these patients and may influence therapeutic options.

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis: comparison between transcatheter and surgical bioprostheses.

PURPOSE: Most data regarding infective endocarditis (IE) after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) comes from TAVI registries, rather than IE dedicated cohorts. The objective of our study was to compare the clinical and microbiological profile, imaging features and outcomes of patients with IE after SAVR with a biological prosthetic valve (IE-SAVR) and IE after TAVI (IE-TAVI) from 6 centres with an Endocarditis Team (ET) and broad experience in IE. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. From the time of first TAVI implantation in each centre to March 2021, all consecutive patients admitted for IE-SAVR or IE-TAVI were prospectively enrolled. Follow-up was monitored during admission and at 12 months after discharge. RESULTS: 169 patients with IE-SAVR and 41 with IE-TAVI were analysed. Early episodes were more frequent among IE-TAVI. Clinical course during hospitalization was similar in both groups, except for a higher incidence of atrioventricular block in IE-SAVR. The most frequently causative microorganisms were S. epidermidis, Enterococcus spp. and S. aureus in both groups. Periannular complications were more frequent in IE-SAVR. Cardiac surgery was performed in 53.6% of IE-SAVR and 7.3% of IE-TAVI (p=0.001), despite up to 54.8% of IE-TAVI patients had an indication. No differences were observed about death during hospitalization (32.7% vs 35.0%), and at 1-year follow-up (41.8% vs 37.5%), regardless of whether the patient underwent surgery or not. CONCLUSION: Patients with IE-TAVI had a higher incidence of early prosthetic valve IE. Compared to IE-SAVR, IE-TAVI patients underwent cardiac surgery much less frequently, despite having surgical indications. However, in-hospital and 1-year mortality rate was similar between both groups.

Contemporary comparison of infective endocarditis caused by Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis: a cohort study.

Among 1655 consecutive patients with infective endocarditis treated from 1998 to 2020 in three tertiary care centres, 16 were caused by Candida albicans (CAIE, n = 8) and Candida parapsilosis (CPIE, n = 8). Compared to CAIE, CPIE were more frequently community-acquired. Prosthetic valve involvement was remarkably more common among patients with CPIE. CPIE cases presented a higher rate of positive blood cultures at admission, persistently positive blood cultures after antifungals initiation and positive valve cultures. All patients but four underwent cardiac surgery. Urgent surgery was more frequently performed in CPIE. No differences regarding in-hospital mortality were documented, even after adjusting for therapeutic management.

Regional differences in infective endocarditis epidemiology and outcomes in Spain. A contemporary population-based study.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to describe the contemporary epidemiological profile of infective endocarditis (IE) in Spain, and to evaluate variations in IE incidence, characteristics, and outcomes among the different Spanish regions (autonomous communities [AC]). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, population-based study, using data obtained from national in-patient hospital activity of all patients discharged with a diagnosis of IE from hospitals included in the Spanish National Health System, from January 2016 to December 2019. Differences in the IE profile between the 17 Spanish AC were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 9008 hospitalization episodes were identified during the study period. Standardized incidence of IE was 5.77 (95%CI, 5.12-6.41) cases per 100 000 population. Regarding predisposing conditions, 26.8% of episodes occurred in prosthetic valve carriers, 36.8% had some kind of valve heart disease, and 10.6% had a cardiac implantable electronic device. Significant differences were found between AC in terms of incidence, predisposing conditions, and microbiological profile. Cardiac surgery was performed in 19.3% of episodes in the total cohort, and in 33.4% of the episodes treated in high-volume referral centers, with wide variations among AC. Overall in-hospital mortality was 27.2%. Risk-adjusted mortality rates also varied significantly among regions. CONCLUSIONS: We found wide heterogeneity among Spanish AC in terms of incidence rates and the clinical and microbiological characteristics of IE episodes. The proportion of patients undergoing surgery was low and in-hospital mortality rates were high, with wide differences among regions. The development of regional networks with referral centers for IE could facilitate early surgery and improve outcomes.

Clinical Profile and Prognosis of Patients with Left-Sided Infective Endocarditis with Surgical Indication Who Are Not Operated.

Approximately a quarter of patients with infective endocarditis (IE) who have surgical indication only receive antibiotic treatment. Their short-term prognosis is dismal. We aimed to describe the characteristics of this group of patients to evaluate the mortality according to the cause of rejection and type of surgical indication and to analyze their prognostic factors of mortality. From 2005 to 2022, 1105 patients with definite left-sided IE were consecutively attended in three tertiary hospitals. Of them, 912 (82.5%) had formal surgical indication according to the most recent European Guidelines available in each period of the study and 303 (33%) only received medical treatment. These were older, had more comorbidities and higher in-hospital (46% vs. 24%; p < 0.001) and one year mortality (57.1% vs. 27.6%; p < 0.001) than operated patients. The main reason for surgical rejection was high surgical risk (57.1%) and the highest mortality when the cause were severe neurological conditions (76%). When the endocarditis team took the decision not to operate (25.5% of the patients), in-hospital (7%) and one-year mortality (17%) were low. In-hospital mortality associated with each surgical indication was 67% in heart failure, 53% in uncontrolled infection and 45% in prevention of embolisms (p < 0.001). Heart failure (OR: 2.26 CI95%: 1.29-3.96; p = 0.005), Staphylococcus aureus (OR: 3.17; CI95%: 1.72-5.86; p < 0.001) and persistent infection (OR: 5.07 CI95%: 2.85-9.03) are the independent risk factors of in-hospital mortality. One third of the patients with left-sided IE and formal surgical indication are rejected for surgery. In-hospital mortality is very high, especially when heart failure is the indication for surgery and when severe neurological conditions the reason for rejection. Short term prognosis of patients rejected by a specialized endocarditis team is favorable.

Valvulitis: a new echocardiographic criterion for the diagnosis of bioprosthetic aortic valve infective endocarditis.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Diffuse homogeneous hypoechoic leaflet thickening, with a wavy leaflet motion documented by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), has been described in some cases of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) involving aortic bioprosthesis (AoBio-PVE). This echocardiographic finding has been termed valvulitis. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of valvulitis, precisely describe its echocardiographic characteristics, and determine their clinical significance in patients with AoBio-PVE. METHODS: From 2011 to 2022, 388 consecutive patients with infective endocarditis (IE) admitted to a tertiary care hospital were prospectively included in a multipurpose database. For this study, all patients with AoBio-PVE (n=86) were selected, and their TEE images were thoroughly evaluated by 3 independent cardiologists to identify all cases of valvulitis. RESULTS: The prevalence of isolated valvulitis was 12.8%, and 20.9% of patients had valvulitis accompanied by other classic echocardiographic findings of IE. A total of 9 out of 11 patients with isolated valvulitis had significant valve stenosis, whereas significant aortic valve regurgitation was documented in only 1 patient. Compared with the other patients with AoBio-PVE, cardiac surgery was less frequently performed in patients with isolated valvulitis (27.3% vs 62.7%, P=.017). In 4 out of 5 patients with valve stenosis who did not undergo surgery but underwent follow-up TEE, valve gradients significantly improved with appropriate antibiotic therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Valvulitis can be the only echocardiographic finding in infected AoBio and needs to be identified by imaging specialists for early diagnosis. However, this entity is a diagnostic challenge and additional imaging techniques might be required to confirm the diagnosis. Larger series are needed.

Extraction of an entangled coronary guidewire using the balloon trapping technique.

A 74-year-old man who previously underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for a right coronary non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction was scheduled for physiology-guided PCI to a left main stem (LMS)/left anterior descending (LAD) lesion.

Impact of transfer to reference centres and surgical timing on the prognosis of surgically treated patients with infective endocarditis: a prospective multi-centre cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: To compare outcomes in patients with infective endocarditis (IE) first treated in secondary hospitals and then transferred to reference centres for surgery with those in patients diagnosed in reference centres, and to evaluate the impact of surgery timing on prognosis. METHODS: Analysis of a prospective cohort of patients with active IE admitted to three reference centres between 1996 and 2022 who underwent cardiac surgery in the first month after diagnosis. Multi-variable analysis was performed to evaluate the impact of transfer to reference centres and time to surgery on 30-day mortality. Adjusted ORs with 95% CIs were calculated. RESULTS: Amongst 703 patients operated on for IE, 385 (54.8%) were referred cases. All-cause 30-day mortality did not differ significantly between referred patients and those diagnosed at reference centres (102/385 [26.5%] vs. 78/385 [24.5%], respectively; p 0.552). Variables independently associated with 30-day mortality in the whole cohort were diabetes (OR, 1.76 [95% CI, 1.15-2.69]), chronic kidney disease (OR, 1.83 [95% CI, 1.08-3.10]), Staphylococcus aureus (OR, 1.88 [95% CI, 1.18-2.98]), septic shock (OR, 2.76 [95% CI, 1.67-4.57]), heart failure (OR, 1.41 [95% CI, 0.85-2.11]), acute renal failure before surgery (OR, 1.76 [95% CI, 1.15-2.69]), and the interaction between transfer to reference centres and surgery timing (OR, 1.18 [95% CI, 1.03-1.35]). Amidst referred patients, time from diagnosis to surgery longer than a week was independently associated with 30-day mortality (OR, 2.19 [95% CI, 1.30-3.69]; p 0.003). CONCLUSION: Among referred patients, surgery performed >7 days after diagnosis was associated with two-fold higher 30-day mortality.