[Clinical study and analysis of risk factors for mortality in 86 cases of infectious endocarditis in children and adolescents in Argentina: 1988-2000]. / Análisis clínico y de los factores de riesgo de mortalidad de 86 casos de endocarditis infecciosa en niños y adolescentes en Argentina (1988-2000).

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: IE is a rare infection in children. Scarce reports with large number of patients are published. METHODS: Between January 1988 to December 2000 we analyzed all cases of IE cases admitted to our hospital. RESULTS: 86 cases of IE (4.9/10,000 admissions) in 86 children were diagnosed. The median age was 7.6 years. In 77% of patient previous cardiac disease was detected, interventricular defects and Tetralogy of Fallot were the more frequent. Three percent of children had rheumatic heart disease. Thirty-six percent of children had previous heart surgery. Fifty-seven percent have been received previous antibiotics. Eighty-seven percent had positive blood cultures, being the S. aureus and S. viridans the predominantly. Forty-eight percent of children had complications. The metabolic disorders and the nosocomial infections were the most frequent. Twenty-four percent required surgery, 24% of them in the first week of the diagnosis. The mortality in operated children was 19%. In the multivariate analysis we could observe that children with more than 7 years and S. aureus isolation in blood cultures had more incidence of complications and posterior surgery (p < 0.05). Children with S. aureus IE had longer duration of fever, more incidence of complications than patients with S. viridans IE (p < 0.05). Ten percent of children were treated as outpatients. The global mortality was 12,8%. Previous surgery (OR = 6.89; IC 95% 1.54-30.7) and previous antibiotic treatment (OR = 9.98; IC 95% 1.12-88.8) were the factors related with higher mortality in the multivariate analysis. S. aureus was the predominat pathogen and caused more morbidity and mortality than S. viridans IE. CONCLUSION: Children with IE with previous surgery and previous antibiotic treatment died with more frequency.