Different drugs, different sides: injection use of opioids alone, and not stimulants alone, predisposes to right-sided endocarditis.

OBJECTIVES: Many studies suggest that infective endocarditis (IE) in people who inject drugs is predominantly right sided, while other studies suggest left sided disease; few have differentiated by class of drug used. We hypothesised that based on differing physiological mechanisms, opioids but not stimulants would be associated with right sided IE. METHODS: A retrospective case series of 290 adult (age ≥18) patients with self-reported recent injection drug use, admitted for a first episode of IE to one of three hospitals in London Ontario between April 2007 and March 2018, stratified patients by drug class used (opioid, stimulant or both), and by site of endocarditis. Other outcomes captured included demographics, causative organisms, cardiac and non-cardiac complications, referral to addiction services, medical versus surgical management, and survival. RESULTS: Of those who injected only opioids, 47/71 (69%) developed right-sided IE, 17/71 (25%) developed left-sided IE and 4/71 (6%) had bilateral IE. Of those who injected only stimulants, 11/24 (46%) developed right-sided IE, 11/24 (46%) developed left-sided IE and 2/24 (8%) had bilateral IE. Relative to opioid-only users, stimulant-only users were 1.75 (95% CI 1.05 to 2.93; p=0.031) times more likely to have a left or bilateral IE versus right IE. CONCLUSIONS: While injection use of opioids is associated with a strong predisposition to right-sided IE, stimulants differ in producing a balanced ratio of right and left-sided disease. As the epidemic of crystal methamphetamine injection continues unabated, the rate of left-sided disease, with its attendant higher morbidity and mortality, may also grow.

Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter Line Misuse Among People Who Inject Drugs While on Therapy for Infective Endocarditis.

BACKGROUND: People who inject drugs and have infective endocarditis have a high risk of recurrent infective endocarditis and death. We aimed to characterize clinical factors associated with mortality and assess the probability of infective endocarditis recurrence in the presence of death as a competing risk. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted of people who inject drugs, identified between April 5, 2007 and March 15, 2018 with the Modified Duke Criteria for definite infective endocarditis. Fine-Gray sub-distribution and Cox proportional hazards modeling were conducted to determine variables associated with the rate of infective endocarditis recurrence and mortality, respectively. RESULTS: Of the 310 patients with infective endocarditis who inject drugs, 236 experienced a single episode and 74 experienced recurrent episodes. Peripherally inserted central catheter misuse was associated with an increased rate of infective endocarditis recurrence (sub-distribution hazard ratio 2.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17-4.98; P = .02) and mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 2.44; 95% CI, 1.15-5.17; P = .02). Non-right-sided infection, peripheral intravenous therapy, and intensive care unit admission were also associated with increased mortality. Oral therapy (HR 0.38; 95% CI, 0.16-0.91; P = .03), outpatient treatment (HR 0.39; 95% CI, 0.19-0.82; P = .01), and inpatient referral to addiction services (HR 0.39; 95% CI, 0.22-0.70; P = .002) were associated with a decrease in mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who misuse their peripherally inserted central catheter are at higher risk of recurrent infective endocarditis and death. Avoidance of peripherally inserted central catheter lines and use of intravenous peripheral therapy did not reduce mortality, but oral therapy was associated with reduced risk. Inpatient addiction services referral is important.

Gastrointestinal Histoplasmosis Mimicking Crohn's Disease.

Disseminated histoplasmosis is a life-threatening disease usually seen in immunocompromised patients living in endemic areas. We present an apparently immunocompetent patient with gastrointestinal histoplasmosis who was initially diagnosed with biopsy-proven Crohn's disease. Following discontinuation of anti-inflammatory drugs and institution of antifungal therapy, his gastrointestinal illness completely improved. Specific fungal staining should be routinely included in histopathologic assessment of tissue specimens diagnosed as Crohn's disease.

Risk of New Bloodstream Infections and Mortality Among People Who Inject Drugs With Infective Endocarditis.

Importance: People who inject drugs (PWID) who are being treated for infective endocarditis remain at risk of new bloodstream infections (BSIs) due to ongoing intravenous drug use (IVDU). Objectives: To characterize new BSIs in PWID receiving treatment for infective endocarditis, to determine the clinical factors associated with their development, and to determine whether new BSIs and treatment setting are associated with mortality. Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective cohort study was performed at 3 tertiary care hospitals in London, Ontario, Canada, from April 1, 2007, to March 31, 2018. Participants included a consecutive sample of all PWID 18 years or older admitted with infective endocarditis. Data were analyzed from April 1, 2007, to June 29, 2018. Main Outcomes and Measures: New BSIs and factors associated with their development, treatment setting of infective endocarditis episodes (ie, inpatient vs outpatient), and 90-day mortality. Results: The analysis identified 420 unique episodes of infective endocarditis in 309 PWID (mean [SD] patient age, 35.7 [9.7] years; 213 episodes [50.7%] involving male patients), with 82 (19.5%) complicated by new BSIs. There were 138 independent new BSIs, of which 68 (49.3%) were polymicrobial and 266 were unique isolates. Aerobic gram-negative bacilli (143 of 266 [53.8%]) and Candida species (75 of 266 [28.2%]) were the most common microorganisms. Ongoing inpatient IVDU was documented by a physician in 194 infective endocarditis episodes (46.2%), and 127 of these (65.5%) were confirmed by urine toxicology results. Multivariable time-dependent Cox regression demonstrated that previous infective endocarditis (hazard ratio [HR], 1.89; 95% CI, 1.20-2.98), inpatient treatment (HR, 4.49; 95% CI, 2.30-8.76), and physician-documented inpatient IVDU (HR, 5.07; 95% CI, 2.68-9.60) were associated with a significantly higher rate of new BSIs, whereas inpatient addiction treatment was associated with a significantly lower rate (HR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.32-0.88). New BSIs were not significantly associated with 90-day mortality (HR, 1.76; 95% CI, 0.78-4.02); significant factors associated with mortality included inpatient infective endocarditis treatment (HR, 3.39; 95% CI, 1.53-7.53), intensive care unit admission (HR, 9.51; 95% CI, 4.91-18.42), and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infective endocarditis (HR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.03-3.03), whereas right-sided infective endocarditis was associated with a significantly lower mortality rate (HR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.25-0.67). Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, new BSIs were common in PWID receiving parenteral treatment for infective endocarditis. Discharging patients to outpatient treatment was not associated with an increase in new BSI incidence or mortality; carefully selected PWID may therefore be considered for such treatment.

Risk factors of infective endocarditis in persons who inject drugs.

BACKGROUND: The rising incidence of infective endocarditis (IE) among people who inject drugs (PWID) has been a major concern across North America. The coincident rise in IE and change of drug preference to hydromorphone controlled-release (CR) among our PWID population in London, Ontario intrigued us to study the details of injection practices leading to IE, which have not been well characterized in literature. METHODS: A case-control study, using one-on-one interviews to understand risk factors and injection practices associated with IE among PWID was conducted. Eligible participants included those who had injected drugs within the last 3 months, were > 18 years old and either never had or were currently admitted for an IE episode. Cases were recruited from the tertiary care centers and controls without IE were recruited from outpatient clinics and addiction clinics in London, Ontario. RESULTS: Thirty three cases (PWID IE+) and 102 controls (PWID but IE-) were interviewed. Multivariable logistic regressions showed that the odds of having IE were 4.65 times higher among females (95% CI 1.85, 12.28; p = 0.001) and 5.76 times higher among PWID who did not use clean injection equipment from the provincial distribution networks (95% CI 2.37, 14.91; p < 0.001). Injecting into multiple sites and heating hydromorphone-CR prior to injection were not found to be significantly associated with IE. Hydromorphone-CR was the most commonly injected drug in both groups (90.9% cases; 81.4% controls; p = 0.197). DISCUSSION: Our study highlights the importance of distributing clean injection materials for IE prevention. Furthermore, our study showcases that females are at higher risk of IE, which is contrary to the reported literature. Gender differences in injection techniques, which may place women at higher risk of IE, require further study. We suspect that the very high prevalence of hydromorphone-CR use made our sample size too small to identify a significant association between its use and IE, which has been established in the literature.

The Relationship Between HIV Antibody Titer, HIV Viral Load, HIV p24 Antigen, and CD4 T-cell Count Among Iranian HIV-positive Patients.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to simultaneously measure and assess the correlation between the available HIV infection parameters including HIV antibody, p24 Antigen, CD4 cell count, and viral load at the different stages of HIV disease among HIV-positive individuals in Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty HIV-positive individuals were classified into three stages (1, 2, and 3) according to the HIV disease stages classification, available in Control of Disease and Prevention (CDC) guideline. 10 ml of the venous blood sample was collected to run the tests for HIV antibody and p24 Ag levels, CD4 cell counts, and viral load. Pearson's correlation test was employed to calculate the coefficients for the in-between correlation of different HIV parameters in each stage. RESULTS: Of 50 participants, 17 (34%), 25 (50%), and 8 (16%) patients belonged to stages 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Sexual relationship was the main route of HIV transmission among the patients (36%); however, injecting drug use (20%) was also reported frequently. There was no significant correlation between the parameters of HIV disease in different stages in the present study. CONCLUSION: The findings showed no correlation between HIV parameters in the present study. Considering the fact that the association of HIV antibodies with HIV disease progression in infected individuals is independent of HIV-1 RNA levels, combined measurement of HIV-1 RNA and CD4 cell counts should be routinely carried out in HIV infected patients follow up.

Recurrent Endocarditis in Persons Who Inject Drugs.

BACKGROUND: Infective endocarditis (IE) is increasing among persons who inject drugs (PWID) and has high morbidity and mortality. Recurrent IE in PWID is not well described. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study conducted between February 2007 and March 2016. It included adult inpatients (≥18) at any of 3 tertiary care centers in London, Ontario, with definite IE based on the Modified Duke's Criteria. The objectives were to characterize recurrent IE in PWID, identify risk factors for recurrent IE, identify the frequency of fungal endocarditis, and establish whether fungal infection was associated with higher mortality. RESULTS: Three hundred ninety patients had endocarditis, with 212/390 in PWID. Sixty-eight of 212 (32%) PWID had a second episode, with 28/212 (12%) having additional recurrences. Second-episode IE was more common in PWID (11/178 [6.2%] vs 68/212 [32.1%]; P < .001). Peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line abuse was associated with increased risk of recurrent endocarditis (odds ratio [OR], 1.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-3.87; P = .04). In PWID, fungal IE was more common in second episodes than first episodes (1/212 [0.5%] vs 5/68 [7.4%]; P = .004). Additionally, fungal infections were associated with mortality in second-episode IE in PWID with an adjusted OR of 16.49 (95% CI, 1.12-243.17; P = .041). Despite recurrent infection, likely due to continued drug use, there was a low rate of referral to addiction treatment (14/68 [20.6%]). CONCLUSIONS: PWID have a high risk of recurrent endocarditis, particularly in patients who abuse PICC lines. Fungal endocarditis is more common in second-episode endocarditis and is associated with increased mortality. Consideration of empiric antifungal therapy in PWID with IE history and suspected IE should be considered.

Clinical Characteristics and Factors Associated With Mortality in First-Episode Infective Endocarditis Among Persons Who Inject Drugs.

Importance: Persons who inject drugs (PWID) represent a distinct demographic of patients with infective endocarditis. Many centers do not perform valvular surgery on these patients owing to concerns about poor outcomes. Addiction services are underused in hospitals. Objectives: To compare clinical characteristics in first-episode infective endocarditis in PWID who are surgically vs medically managed and to identify variables associated with mortality. Design, Setting, and Participants: This case series studied PWID treated for a first episode of infective endocarditis between April 1, 2007, and March 30, 2016. Participants were adult patients (aged ≥18 years) admitted to any of 3 hospitals in London, Ontario, Canada. Analysis occurred between July 2016 and November 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures: Survival among PWID; the causative organisms, site of infection, and cardiac as well as noncardiac complications; referral to addiction services; and surgical vs medical management. Results: Of 370 total first-episode cases of infective endocarditis, 202 (54.6%) were in PWID. Among PWID, 105 (52%) were male, the median (interquartile range) age was 34 (28-42) years, and patients were predominantly positive for the hepatitis C virus (69.8% [141 of 202]). Right-sided infection was more common (61.4% [124 of 202]), and most infections were caused by Staphylococcus aureus (77.2% [156 of 202]). Surgery occurred in 19.3% of patients (39 of 202). The all-cause mortality rate was 33.7% (68 of 202). Adjusting for age and sex, survival analysis demonstrated that surgery was associated with lower mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 0.44; 95% CI, 0.23-0.84; P = .01), as was referral to addiction treatment (HR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.12-0.73; P = .008). Higher mortality was associated with left-sided infection (HR, 3.26; 95% CI, 1.82-5.84; P < .001) and bilateral involvement (HR, 4.51; 95% CI, 2.01-10.1; P < .001). Conclusions and Relevance: This study presents the demographic characteristics of first-episode infective endocarditis in PWID. Results highlight the potentially important role of addictions treatment in this population. Further study to optimize selection criteria for surgery in PWID is warranted.

Prevalence of cryptococcal antigen positivity among HIV infected patient with CD4 cell count less than 100 of Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cryptococcal meningitis is one of the main opportunistic infections associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Despite the present and increasingly availability of specific treatment for cryptococcosis, the mortality rate of this infection is still high, particularly in patients with advanced immunsupression and advanced cryptococcal diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This Prospective Cohort study was conducted at Imam Khomeini hospital in Tehran, Iran. Serum cryptococcal antigen was detected using the Lateral Flow Assay (LFA) There were 86 HIV-infected patients included in this study. RESULTS: There were 86 HIV-infected patients in this study. The prevalence of positive serum cryptococcal antigen was 0% (0 of 86). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of cryptococcal infection among patients with advanced acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the Iran is very low (<3%) thus the screening test for cryptococcal antigenemia dose not save lives and is not cost-effective in Iranian population.

Infective endocarditis; report from a main referral teaching hospital in Iran.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present preliminary study was to assess the demographic, clinical, paraclinical, microbiological, echocardiographic, and therapeutic profile as well as in-hospital outcome of patients with infective endocarditis at a referral center for various infectious diseases in Iran. METHODS: Required demographic, clinical, plausible complications and paraclinical data were collected from patients' medical charts. Echocardiographic findings were obtained by performing transthoracic and/or transesophageal echocardiography as clinically indicated. In addition, details of management modalities and in-hospital outcome of patients were recorded. RESULTS: During a 3-year period, 55 patients with definite or possible diagnosis of Infective endocarditis were admitted to the ward. Twenty one (38.2%) patients were injection drug users. Staphylococcus aureus and S.epidermidis were the most commonly isolated microorganisms. Management modalities of Infective endocarditis included antimicrobial therapy alone (48 cases) and the combination of antimicrobial therapy and surgery (7 cases). CONCLUSION: The rate of negative blood culture in our cohort is high. S. aureus and S.epidermidis were the most commonly isolated microorganisms from positive blood cultures. Congestive heart failure was the most frequent infective endocarditis complication as well as indication for surgery. In-hospital mortality rate of patients was unexpectedly low.

Cardiac Hydatid Cyst: A Case Report.

Hydatid disease commonly involves liver but in rare cases, it can involve cardiac structures. A 75-yr-old farmer from Parsabad-Moghan, northwestern Iran was presented to the Emergency Room of Tehran Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran with dyspnea and without chest pain in 2014. A lesion compatible with hydatid cyst was found in echocardiography and confirmed by serology and MRI. Surgical treatment was done but the patient was died in recovery room because of cardiac arrhythmia. In endemic areas, hydatid cyst should be considered in differential diagnosis of heterogeneous echogenic lesions even if the serologic tests are negative. Physician can use cardiac MRI to earn valuable information about the lesion and its relation to other structures. However, with all of these assessments, surgical removal of cardiac cysts may have some complications.

Bilateral Presumed Tuberculous Choroiditis.

PURPOSE: To describe a case of bilateral presumed tuberculous choroiditis which resolved promptly with a short course of antituberculous therapy. CASE REPORT: A 44-year-old lady presented with bilateral visual loss of 8 months'duration. Considering the presence of pan-uveitis, severe macular edema, multifocal leakage on fluorescein angiography, positive tuberculin skin test, and after excluding other diseases, she underwent anti-tuberculous therapy (ATT) for disseminated choroiditis due to presumed ocular tuberculosis. She improved promptly and completely. There were no signs of relapse 18 months after completion of the treatment course. In a young patient with disseminated choroiditis and relatively short duration of symptoms, a course of ATT for 6 months may effectively treat the disease preventing relapse for a considerable period of time. CONCLUSION: In Presumed Tuberculous chroiditis early diagnosis is crucial for prompt and complete improvement.

Intestinal tuberculosis sometimes mimics Crohn's disease.

Intestinal tuberculosis is an uncommon presentation of tuberculosis (TB) and has clinicopathological similarities with Crohn's disease. In regions where TB is endemic clinicians must aware of this condition and fully evaluate their patients when Crohn's disease is diagnosed. We recommend all pathologic specimens be evaluate effectively for TB.Smear,culture and PCR for Mycobacterium.tuberculosis from samples aside the pathological reviews help for better diagnosis. Here we present a case of intestinal tuberculosis which initially diagnosed as Crohn's disease but after starting immunosuppressive agents he presented with disseminated tuberculosis.

Cervical transverse myelitis after chickenpox in an immunocompetent patient.

Varicella-zoster viruses complications involving the CNS are estimated to occur rarely, transverse myelitis after Varicella-zoster virus in most patients is characterized by an abrupt onset of progressive weakness and sensory disturbance in the lower extremities , like other viruses. We describe the case of 17 year-old boy who experienced cervical transverse myelitis after chickenpox with inability to walk and with urinary retention. He was not treated with any medication but complete recovery has been occurred.