Management of Infective Endocarditis in People Who Inject Drugs: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

BACKGROUND: The American Heart Association has sponsored both guidelines and scientific statements that address the diagnosis, management, and prevention of infective endocarditis. As a result of the unprecedented and increasing incidence of infective endocarditis cases among people who inject drugs, the American Heart Association sponsored this original scientific statement. It provides a more in-depth focus on the management of infective endocarditis among this unique population than what has been provided in prior American Heart Association infective endocarditis-related documents. METHODS: A writing group was named and consisted of recognized experts in the fields of infectious diseases, cardiology, addiction medicine, and cardiovascular surgery in October 2021. A literature search was conducted in Embase on November 19, 2021, and multiple terms were used, with 1345 English-language articles identified after removal of duplicates. CONCLUSIONS: Management of infective endocarditis in people who inject drugs is complex and requires a unique approach in all aspects of care. Clinicians must appreciate that it requires involvement of a variety of specialists and that consultation by addiction-trained clinicians is as important as that of more traditional members of the endocarditis team to improve infective endocarditis outcomes. Preventive measures are critical in people who inject drugs and are cured of an initial bout of infective endocarditis because they remain at extremely high risk for subsequent bouts of infective endocarditis, regardless of whether injection drug use is continued.

Peripheral cannulation and endoaortic balloon occlusion for management of porcelain aorta during cardiac surgery.

Porcelain aorta with extensive calcification of the ascending aorta complicates cardiac surgery and increases perioperative risk. Aortic cannulation and cross-clamping in these patients increase the risk of serious complications including perioperative embolic stroke. Although different techniques have been proposed, surgery in these patients remains a challenge. We present the clinical implications of the porcelain aorta and surgical strategies involving axillary arterial cannulation and endoaortic balloon to allow for the institution of cardiopulmonary bypass and cardioplegic arrest during surgery. The surgery included a redo sternotomy with bioprosthetic mitral valve replacement, tricuspid valve repair with an annuloplasty, and closure of the left atrial appendage. In appropriately selected patients, endoaortic balloon occlusion was a valuable tool to facilitate the safe conduct of an operation. Careful preoperative evaluation and planning by a multidisciplinary team are essential in these cases.

Comparison of risk scores for predicting outcomes after isolated tricuspid valve surgery.

BACKGROUND: Risk models play important roles in stratification and decision-making towards cardiac surgery. Isolated tricuspid valve surgery is a high risk but increasingly performed the operation, however, the performance of risk models has not been externally evaluated in these patients. We compared the prognostic utility of contemporary risk scores for isolated tricuspid valve surgery. METHODS: Consecutive patients undergoing isolated tricuspid valve surgery at Cleveland Clinic during 2004-2018 were evaluated in this cohort study. EuroSCORE II, Society of Thoracic Surgeon's tricuspid (STS-TVS) score, and the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score were retrospectively calculated, and their performance for predicting operative mortality, postoperative complications, and mortality during follow-up was assessed. RESULTS: Amongst 207 patients studied, the mean age was 54.1 ± 17.9 years, 116 (56.0%) were female, 92 (44.4%) had secondary tricuspid regurgitation, and 151 (72.9%) had a surgical repair. Mean EuroSCORE II, STS-TVS, and MELD scores were 6.3 ± 6.6%, 5.5 ± 6.2%, and 9.8 ± 4.7, respectively. C-statistics (95% confidence intervals) for operative mortality were 0.83 (0.74-0.93) for EuroSCORE II, 0.60 (0.45-0.75) for STS-TVS score, and 0.74 (0.58-0.89) for MELD score, while observed/expected ratios were 0.78 and 0.89 for the first two scores. All three scores were associated with mortality during follow-up and discriminated most postoperative complications. CONCLUSION: EuroSCORE II was superior to STS-tricuspid score for isolated TVS risk assessment. Although surgical risk scores traditionally underestimated operative mortality after isolated tricuspid valve surgery, they did not in our cohort, reflecting the excellent surgical results. The simple MELD score performed similarly to the EuroSCORE II, especially for discriminating morbidities.

Clinical and Echocardiographic Characteristics of Bartonella Infective Endocarditis: An 8-Year Single-Centre Experience in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Infective endocarditis due to Bartonella species is rare. The clinical and echocardiographic characteristics are not well defined. We aimed to investigate the clinical and echocardiographic findings of Bartonella endocarditis in the contemporary era. METHODS: The infective endocarditis (IE) registry and echocardiographic database at our institution were retrospectively analysed to evaluate the clinical and echocardiographic features of Bartonella endocarditis. RESULTS: Between January 2008 and December 2015, there were 11 patients with Bartonella IE (0.84% among a total of 1,308 cases of definite IE): median age 54 (30-69) years, all male, 9 Caucasian, 10 had a history of cat exposure, 10 had a pre-existing valvulopathy including 6 patients with a prosthetic valve with prosthesis age range between 3 to 5 years and 1 patient with implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). Bartonella henselae was responsible for all the cases. Echocardiographic evidence of IE was found in 6 of 11 patients on transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), and 6 of 8 on transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Bartonella IE was associated with significant valvular destruction and dysfunction on echocardiography. Nine (9) patients were managed surgically with excellent outcomes, including two patients who failed initial medical therapy. Two (2) patients who were managed medically had progression of valvular dysfunction. At a median follow-up of 6 months, there were no deaths attributable to IE or other cardiovascular causes. CONCLUSION: In a contemporary single-centre cohort in the United States, Bartonella IE remains rare, but should be considered when pathogen could not be identified in patients with suspected IE, especially those with prosthetic valves or bicuspid aortic valve (BAV). The vast majority of patients with Bartonella IE were managed surgically with excellent outcomes.

Techniques for Mitral Valve Re-repair.

The emergence of mitral valve repair as the preferred treatment for severe mitral regurgitation (MR) caused by degenerative disease has been accompanied by an increasing number of valve repair failures seen by surgeons. Consequently, the feasibility of valve re-repair vs valve replacement at the time of reoperation has become a valid clinical consideration. In this report we explore the mechanisms of mitral valve repair failure as well as factors that meaningfully influence the likelihood of a successful re-repair. We provide illustrations of techniques for re-repair that we have used with reliable success, informed by the mechanism of repair failure. Lastly, we share our outcomes for mitral valve re-repair over the last 5 years and discuss our experience using the techniques illustrated in this report.

Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Patency and Survival in Patients on Dialysis.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about graft patency after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) performed in patients on dialysis. Our aim was to assess patency of internal thoracic artery (ITA) grafts and saphenous vein grafts (SVGs) in these patients. METHODS: From 1/1997 to 1/2018, 500 patients on dialysis underwent primary CABG with or without concomitant procedures at Cleveland Clinic, 40 of whom had 48 postoperative angiograms for recurrent ischemic symptoms. Complete follow-up was obtained on all but 1 patient lost to follow-up 1 y after CABG. Thirty-six ITA grafts and 65 SVGs were evaluable for stenosis and occlusion. RESULTS: Two of 40 patients (5%) had emergency CABG; 3 (7.5%) with calcified aortas had a change in operative strategy to avoid ascending aortic manipulation, 2 (5%) had poor conduit quality, and 12 (30%) had severe diffuse atherosclerotic disease with calcification of the coronary targets causing technical difficulties. Thirty-three patients (82%) were bypassed with an in situ ITA and 3 (7.5%) had a free ITA graft. Three of 36 ITA grafts were occluded at 0.78, 1.8, and 9.4 y (too few to model). SVG patency was 52% and 37% at 1 and 2 y, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients on dialysis who underwent CABG, coronary angiography for ischemic symptoms in a select subset revealed that SVG patency was lower than expected from published reports in the general CABG population and may contribute to the poor prognosis of this cohort. Further work is needed to guide graft selection and improve graft patency in dialysis patients.

Relationships between mitral annular calcification and cardiovascular events: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Mitral annular calcification (MAC) is prevalent in the aging population, with recent renewed interest regarding its associations with cardiovascular risk factors, outcomes, and influence on valvular heart disease and interventions. This meta-analysis aimed to report the relationships between MAC and cardiovascular mortality and morbidity events. METHODS: Relevant studies were searched from PubMed, Cochrane, and Embase databases until November 30, 2019. Associations between MAC as a binary variable with death and cardiovascular events were pooled using random-effects models. The main outcomes of interest were all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and procedural outcomes. RESULTS: Among 799 article abstracts and 122 full-text articles screened, 26 (16 prospective and 10 retrospective) studies totaling 35 070 subjects were analyzed. MAC was associated with higher all-cause death, hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) 1.76 (1.43-2.22), and cardiovascular mortality 1.85 (1.45-23.5). It also positively correlated with myocardial infarction 1.48 (1.22-1.79), stroke 1.51 (1.22-2.05), incidental heart failure 1.55 (1.30-1.84), atrial fibrillation 1.75 (1.43-2.15), and their composite, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Finally, conversion to mitral valve replacement at time of cardiac surgery was more in patients with MAC than without MAC, with odds ratio (95% confidence interval) 2.82 (1.28-6.18). CONCLUSION: Mitral annular calcification was overall associated with higher rates of death, and both individual and composite cardiovascular events. The presence of increasingly encountered MAC has significant clinical implications for cardiovascular risk assessment and valvular interventions.

Contemporary Outcomes of Pulmonary Valve Endocarditis: A 16-Year Single Centre Experience.

BACKGROUND: Limited data exist regarding the clinical characteristics and contemporary outcomes of patients with pulmonary valve (PoV) infective endocarditis (IE). METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of patients with a confirmed diagnosis of IE affecting the PoV at our centre between January 2002 and October 2018. Electronic medical records were reviewed to gather the clinical and echocardiographic variables. The population was subdivided according to risk factor profiles: group 1: miscellaneous risk factors; group 2: patients with congenital heart disease (CHD); and group 3: patients who inject drugs (PWID). The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. RESULTS: Out of 2,124 cases of IE during the study period, 24 (1.1%) patients had PoV IE. The majority of cases of PoV IE occurred in patients with prosthetic valves (54.2%). Coagulase-negative Staphylococci species were the most common micro-organisms. Seventy-five per cent (75%) of the patients required surgical management. The median follow-up was 2.8 years (interquartile range: 0.2-5.3 years). Patients with miscellaneous risk factors were older (p<0.01), and had higher rates of hypertension (p=0.01) and hyperlipidaemia (p=0.04). There was a statistically significant difference in survival between the groups (p=0.03), mainly driven by better outcomes of patients with CHD, compared to those with miscellaneous risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: In a contemporary 16-year series, a high proportion of patients with PoV IE required surgical management. Patients with PoV IE and CHD had better survival, compared to patients with miscellaneous risk factors at a median follow-up of 2.8 years.

Surgical repair of a left main coronary artery aneurysm.

We report the repair of a 6.5 × 5.3-cm left main coronary artery aneurysm by marsupialization of the aneurysm sac and coronary artery bypass grafting.

Surgical Management of Infective Endocarditis Complicated by Embolic Stroke: Practical Recommendations for Clinicians.

There has been an overall improvement in surgical mortality for patients with infective endocarditis (IE), presumably because of improved diagnosis and management, centered around a more aggressive early surgical approach. Surgery is currently performed in approximately half of all cases of IE. Improved survival in surgery-treated patients is correlated with a reduction in heart failure and the prevention of embolic sequelae. It is reported that between 20% and 40% of patients with IE present with stroke or other neurological conditions. It is for these IE patients that the timing of surgical intervention remains a point of considerable discussion and debate. Despite evidence of improved survival in IE patients with earlier surgical treatment, a significant proportion of patients with IE and preexisting neurological complications either undergo delayed surgery or do not have surgery at all, even when surgery is indicated and guideline endorsed. Physicians and surgeons are caught in a common conundrum where the urgency of the heart operation must be balanced against the real or perceived risks of neurological exacerbation. Recent data suggest that the risk of neurological exacerbation may be lower than previously believed. Current guidelines reflect a shift toward early surgery for such patients, but there continue to be important areas of clinical equipoise. Individualized clinical assessment is of major importance for decision making, and, as such, we emphasize the need for the functioning of an endocarditis team, including cardiac surgeons, cardiologists, infectious diseases specialists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, and interventional neuroradiologists. Here, we present 2 illustrative cases, critically review contemporary data, and offer conceptual and practical suggestions for clinicians to address this important, common, and often fatal cardiac condition.

Third time mitral valve replacement-lessons learned.

We report the management of three iatrogenic injuries involving the aortic valve, left circumflex artery, and left ventricular outflow tract, that occurred during a re-operative mitral valve replacement.

Surgical management of infective endocarditis complicated by ischemic stroke.

Embolism to the central nervous system is a frequent and important complication of infective endocarditis. While early surgery improves outcomes in many groups of patients with infective endocarditis, ischemic stroke secondary to septic embolism carries the risk of hemorrhagic transformation and neurological deterioration with heparinization and cardiopulmonary bypass. We review the literature regarding the surgical management of infective endocarditis in patients with cerebral emboli.

State of the Art of Combined Heart-Lung Transplantation for Advanced Cardiac and Pulmonary Dysfunction.

Over the last several decades, significant advances and improvements in care of transplant patients have resulted in markedly improved outcomes. A number of options are available for patients with advanced cardiopulmonary dysfunction requiring transplantation. There is a debate about when isolated heart or isolated lung transplantation is no longer possible or advisable and combined heart-lung transplantation is justified. Organ availability and allocation severely limit the latter option to very few well-selected patients. We review practice patterns, trends, and outcomes after triple-organ heart-lung transplant (HLTx) worldwide, as well as our own experience with heart-lung transplant in the modern era.

Clinical utility of cerebral angiography in the preoperative assessment of endocarditis.

Cerebral angiography is an invasive procedure utilized without supporting guidelines in preoperative evaluations of infective endocarditis (IE). It is used to identify mycotic intracranial aneurysm, which is suspected to increase the risk of intracranial bleeding during cardiac surgery. Our objectives were to: (1) assess the utility of cerebral angiography by determining which subset of IE patients benefit from its performance; and (2) identify clinical and noninvasive screening tests that can preclude the need for invasive cerebral angiography. Retrospective analysis was performed of all patients treated surgically for IE from 7/2007 to 1/2012 and discharged with medical treatment for IE from 7/2007 to 7/2009 presenting to a large academic center. Of the 151 patients who underwent cerebral angiography, mycotic aneurysm was identified in seven (prevalence=4.6%; 95% CI 2.3-9.3%). Five had viridans group streptococci as the causative IE microorganism (p=0.0017). Noninvasive imaging and particularly absence of intracranial bleed on magnetic resonance imaging conveys a negative predictive value (NPV) of 0.977 (95% CI 0.879-0.996). Absence of a focal neurologic deficit or altered mental status convey a NPV of 0.990 (95% CI 0.945-0.998) and 0.944 (95% CI 0.883-0.974), respectively. Clinical suspicion for mycotic aneurysm and thus utilization of cerebral angiography is likely necessary only in the setting of acute neurologic deficits and when noninvasive imaging demonstrates acute intracranial bleed. A novel association between viridans group streptococci and intracranial mycotic aneurysm is demonstrated.

Bronchial artery revascularization in lung transplantation: revival of an abandoned operation.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Current results of lung transplantation still lag behind those of other solid-organ transplants. Although bronchial dehiscence was the main cause of early mortality in the past, modern-day operative techniques and immunosuppression regiments have decreased, but not eliminated, this complication. Current barriers to long-term survival are chronic lung allograft dysfunction and infection. Bronchial artery revascularization was effective in decreasing bronchial anastomotic complications, but it was largely abandoned because of technical challenges. RECENT FINDINGS: Long-term follow-up in patients with bronchial artery revascularization has shown a survival advantage compared with the standard lung transplant technique. Recent data also show decreased infection, decreased early rejection and decreased bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome, in addition to confirming the known advantages in bronchial healing. Modifications of the technique have also made bronchial artery revascularization feasible in the pediatric population. SUMMARY: Bronchial artery revascularization, although initially designed for bronchial healing, has clinical advantages that extend long term, including survival, infection and decreased graft dysfunction. Its usage in lung transplantation needs to be revisited.

Recent Insights Into Native Valve Infective Endocarditis: JACC Focus Seminar 4/4.

This focused review highlights the latest issues in native valve infective endocarditis. Native valve disease moderately increases the risk of developing infective endocarditis. In 2023, new diagnostic criteria were published by the Duke-International Society of Cardiovascular Infectious Diseases group. New pathogens were designated as typical, and findings on computed tomography imaging were included as diagnostic criteria. It is now recognized that a multidisciplinary approach to care is vital, and the role of an "endocarditis team" is highlighted. Recent studies have suggested that a transition from intravenous to oral antibiotics in selected patients may be reasonable, and the role of long-acting antibiotics is discussed. It is also now clear that an aggressive surgical approach can be life-saving in some patients. Finally, results of several recent studies have suggested there is an association between dental and other invasive procedures and an increased risk of developing infective endocarditis. Moreover, data indicate that antibiotic prophylaxis may be effective in some scenarios.

Isolated mitral valve endocarditis: Patient, disease, and surgical factors that influence outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to investigate patient characteristics, valve pathology, bacteriology, and surgical techniques related to outcome of patients who underwent surgery for isolated native (NVE) or prosthetic (PVE) mitral valve endocarditis. METHODS: From January 2002 to January 2020, 447 isolated mitral endocarditis operations were performed, 326 for NVE and 121 for PVE. Multivariable analysis of time-related outcomes used random forest machine learning. RESULTS: Staphylococcus aureus was the most common causative organism. Of 326 patients with NVE, 88 (27%) underwent standard mitral valve repair, 43 (13%) extended repair, and 195 (60%) valve replacement. Compared with NVE with standard repair, patients who underwent all other operations were older, had more comorbidities, worse cardiac function, and more invasive disease. Hospital mortality was 3.8% (n = 17); 0 (0%) after standard valve repair, 3 (7.0%) after extended repair, 8 (4.1%) after NVE replacement, and 6 (5.0%) after PVE re-replacement. Survival at 1, 5, and 10 years was 91%, 75%, and 62% after any repair and 86%, 62%, and 44% after replacement, respectively. The most important risk factor for mortality was renal failure. Risk-adjusted outcomes, including survival, were similar in all groups. Unadjusted extended repair outcomes, particularly early, were similar or worse than replacement in terms of reinfection, reintervention, regurgitation, gradient, and survival. CONCLUSIONS: A patient- and pathology-tailored approach to surgery for isolated mitral valve endocarditis has low mortality and excellent results. Apparent superiority of standard valve repair is related to patient characteristics and pathology. Renal failure is the most powerful risk factor. In case of extensive destruction, extended repair shows no benefit over replacement.