Aims The EURO-ENDO registry aimed to study the management and outcomes of patients with infective endocarditis (IE). Methods and results Prospective cohort of 3116 adult patients (2470 from Europe, 646 from non-ESC countries), admitted to 156 hospitals in 40 countries between January 2016 and March 2018 with a diagnosis of IE based on ESC 2015 diagnostic criteria. Clinical, biological, microbiological, and imaging [echocardiography, computed tomography (CT) scan, 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT)] data were collected. Infective endocarditis was native (NVE) in 1764 (56.6%) patients, prosthetic (PVIE) in 939 (30.1%), and device-related (CDRIE) in 308 (9.9%). Infective endocarditis was community-acquired in 2046 (65.66%) patients. Microorganisms involved were staphylococci in 1085 (44.1%) patients, oral streptococci in 304 (12.3%), enterococci in 390 (15.8%), and Streptococcus gallolyticus in 162 (6.6%). 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography was performed in 518 (16.6%) patients and presented with cardiac uptake (major criterion) in 222 (42.9%) patients, with a better sensitivity in PVIE (66.8%) than in NVE (28.0%) and CDRIE (16.3%). Embolic events occurred in 20.6% of patients, and were significantly associated with tricuspid or pulmonary IE, presence of a vegetation and Staphylococcus aureus IE. According to ESC guidelines, cardiac surgery was indicated in 2160 (69.3%) patients, but finally performed in only 1596 (73.9%) of them. In-hospital death occurred in 532 (17.1%) patients and was more frequent in PVIE. Independent predictors of mortality were Charlson index, creatinine > 2 mg/dL, congestive heart failure, vegetation length > 10 mm, cerebral complications, abscess, and failure to undertake surgery when indicated. Conclusion Infective endocarditis is still a life-threatening disease with frequent lethal outcome despite profound changes in its clinical, microbiological, imaging, and therapeutic profiles.

BACKGROUNDVolatile (inhaled) anesthetic agents have cardioprotective effects, which might improve clinical outcomes in patients undergoing coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG). METHODSWe conducted a pragmatic, multicenter, single-blind, controlled trial at 36 centers in 13 countries. Patients scheduled to undergo elective CABG were randomly assigned to an intraoperative anesthetic regimen that included a volatile anesthetic (desflurane, isoflurane, or sevoflurane) or to total intravenous anesthesia. The primary outcome was death from any cause at 1 year. RESULTSA total of 5400 patients were randomly assigned: 2709 to the volatile anesthetics group and 2691 to the total intravenous anesthesia group. On-pump CABG was performed in 64% of patients, with a mean duration of cardiopulmonary bypass of 79 minutes. The two groups were similar with respect to demographic and clinical characteristics at baseline, the duration of cardiopulmonary bypass, and the number of grafts. At the time of the second interim analysis, the data and safety monitoring board advised that the trial should be stopped for futility. No significant difference between the groups with respect to deaths from any cause was seen at 1 year (2.8% in the volatile anesthetics group and 3.0% in the total intravenous anesthesia group; relative risk, 0.94; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.69 to 1.29; P = 0.71), with data available for 5353 patients (99.1%), or at 30 days (1.4% and 1.3%, respectively; relative risk, 1.11; 95% CI, 0.70 to 1.76), with data available for 5398 patients (99.9%). There were no significant differences between the groups in any of the secondary outcomes or in the incidence of prespecified adverse events, including myocardial infarction. CONCLUSIONSAmong patients undergoing elective CABG, anesthesia with a volatile agent did not result in significantly fewer deaths at 1 year than total intravenous anesthesia.

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The dehiscence after median transesternal sternotomy used as surgical access for cardiac surgery is one of its complications and it increases the patient's morbidity and mortality. A variety of surgical techniques were recently described resulting to the need of a classification bringing a measure of objectivity to the management of these complex and dangerous wounds. The different related classifications are based in the primary causal infection, but recently the anatomical description of the wound including the deepness and the vertical extension showed to be more useful. We propose a new classification based only on the anatomical changes following sternotomy dehiscence and chronic wound formation separating it in four types according to the deepness and in two sub-groups according to the vertical extension based on the inferior insertion of the pectoralis major muscle.

IntroductionActive infective endocarditis is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Surgery is indicated in high-risk conditions, and the main determinants of mortality in surgical treatment should be evaluated.ObjectiveTo identify mortality predictors in the surgical treatment of active infective endocarditis in a long-term follow-up.MethodsThis prospective observational study involved 88 consecutive patients diagnosed with active infective endocarditis, who underwent surgery between January 2005 and December 2015. Fifty-eight (65.9%) patients were male, the mean age was 50.87±16.15 years. A total of 31 (35.2%) patients had a history of rheumatic fever; 48 (54.5%) had had heart surgery with prosthetic valve implantation; 45 (93.8%) had biological prosthetic valve endocarditis and 3 (6.3%) mechanical prosthetic valve; 40 (45.5%) patients had the disease in their native valve. The mean EuroSCORE II was 8.9±6.5%, and the main surgical indication was refractory heart failure in 38 (43.2%) patients. A total of 68 bioprosthesis (36 aortic, 32 mitral) and 29 mechanical prostheses (12 aortic, 17 mitral) were implanted and three mitral valve plasties performed. A total of 25 (28.4%) patients underwent double or triple valve procedures. Aortic annulus reconstruction by abscess was performed in 18 (20.5%) and six (6.81%) patients had combined procedure. The mean surgery time was 359±97.6 minutes.ResultsThe overall survival in up to a 10-year follow-up period was 79.5%. In the univariate analysis, the main mortality predictors were positive blood cultures (P=0.003), presence of typical microorganisms (P=0.008), most frequently Streptococcus viridans (12 cases; 25%); C-reactive protein (hazard ratio [HR] 1.034, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.000 to 1.070, P=0.04); creatinine clearance (HR 0.977, 95% CI 0.962 to 0.993, P=0.005); length of surgery: every five minutes multiplies the chance of death 1.005-fold (HR 1.005, 95% CI 1.001 to 1.009, P=0.0307); age (HR 1.060, 95% CI 1.026 to 1.096, P=0.001); and EuroSCORE II (HR 1.089, 95% CI 1.030 to 1.151, P=0.003).ConclusionA positive blood culture with typical microorganism, C-reactive protein, age, EuroSCORE II, total surgical time and the presence of postoperative complications were the major predictors of mortality and significantly impacted survival in up to a 10-year follow-up period.

The procedure was rapid and effective. Compared with techniques using muscle, myocutaneous or greater omentum flaps, this surgery was less aggressive and maintained the integrity of tissue region. The authors considered that this technique should be used as the first option, leaving the flaps to more complex cases of relapse.

Purpose High mortality and a limited performance of valvular surgery are typical features of infective endocarditis (IE) in octogenarians, even though surgical treatment is a major determinant of a successful outcome in IE. Methods Data from the prospective multicentre ESC EORP EURO-ENDO registry were used to assess the prognostic role of valvular surgery depending on age. Results As compared to < 80 yo patients, ≥ 80 yo had lower rates of theoretical indication for valvular surgery (49.1% vs. 60.3%, p < 0.001), of surgery performed (37.0% vs. 75.5%, p < 0.001), and a higher in-hospital (25.9% vs. 15.8%, p < 0.001) and 1-year mortality (41.3% vs. 22.2%, p < 0.001). By multivariable analysis, age per se was not predictive of 1-year mortality, but lack of surgical procedures when indicated was strongly predictive ). By propensity analysis, 304 ≥ 80 yo were matched to 608 < 80 yo patients. Propensity analysis confirmed the lower rate of indication for valvular surgery (51.3% vs. 57.2%, p = 0.031) and of surgery performed (35.3% vs. 68.4%, p < 0.0001) in ≥ 80 yo. Overall mortality remained higher in ≥ 80 yo (in-hospital: HR 1.50[1.06-2.13], p = 0.0210; 1-yr: HR 1.58[1.21-2.05], p = 0.0006), but was not different from that of < 80 yo among those who had surgery (in-hospital: 19.7% vs. 20.0%, p = 0.4236; 1-year: 27.3% vs. 25.5%, p = 0.7176). Conclusion Although mortality rates are consistently higher in ≥ 80 yo patients than in < 80 yo patients in the general population, mortality of surgery in ≥ 80 yo is similar to < 80 yo after matching patients. These results confirm the importance of a better recognition of surgical indication and of an increased performance of surgery in ≥ 80 yo patients.

BackgroundStudies have pointed out a higher mortality after coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) in patients with stent.ObjectiveTo evaluate inflammatory markers in peripheral blood cells and in coronary artery tissue samples obtained during CABG in patients with stent compared to controls.MethodsThe case series consisted of two groups, one with previous stent implantation (n = 41) and one control (n = 26). The expression of the LIGHT, IL-6, ICAM, VCAM, CD40, NFKB, TNF, IFNG genes was analyzed in peripheral blood cells collected preoperatively. The coronary artery was evaluated for: interleukin-6, ICAM, VCAM, CD40, NFKB, TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma by immunohistochemistry. A total of 176 tissue samples were grouped for analysis in: A1- arteries with stent (n = 38); A2- native arteries from patients with stent in another artery (n = 68); and A3- arteries without stent from controls undergoing routinely CABG surgery (n = 70). A significance level of 0.05 was adopted.ResultsPatients with stent showed higher TNF (p = 0.03) and lower CD40 gene expression (p = 0.01) in peripheral blood cells than controls without stent. In coronary artery samples, the TNF-alpha protein staining was higher in the group A1, not only in the intima-media layer (5.16 ± 5.05 vs 1.90 ± 2.27; p = 0.02), but also in the adipose tissue (6.69 ± 3.87 vs 2.27 ± 4.00; p < 0.001). Furthermore, group A1 had a higher interleukin-6 protein staining in adipose tissue than group A3 (p = 0.04).ConclusionWe observed a persistently higher systemic TNF expression associated with exacerbated TNF-alpha and interleukin-6 local production in patients with stents. This finding may contribute to a worse clinical outcome.