Ostergaard L, et al. - Researchers herein undertook an exploration of the incidence and risk factors associated with infective endocarditis (IE) in individuals who underwent left-sided heart valve replacement. It was determined that infective endocarditis was not uncommon after left-sided heart valve replacement. Its occurrence was reported in about 1/20 over 10 years. Data illustrated that the factors associated with IE were male, bioprosthetic valve, and heart failure in mitral valve replacement (MVR) patients. On the other hand, male, bioprosthetic valve, and cardiac implantable electronic device were discovered to be the factors associated with IE in aortic valve replacement (AVR) patients.

Methods

• Using Danish administrative registries, subjects who underwent left-sided heart valve replacement from January 1996 to December 2015 were evaluated.
• They were categorized to mitral and aortic valve replacement groups (MVR and AVR) and followed until: 12 years after valve surgery, end of study, death, emigration, or hospitalization due to IE, whichever came first.
• In order to determine which baseline characteristics were related to IE, multivariable adjusted Cox proportional hazard analysis was used.

Results

• The eligible candidates included 18,041 patients.
• At 10 years follow-up, the cumulative IE risk was 5.2% in both MVR and AVR patients.
• Data exhibited that male sex [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.68, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.06-2.68], bioprosthetic valve (HR = 1.91, 95% CI 1.08-3.37), and heart failure (HR = 1.69, 95% CI 1.06-2.68) appeared to be the factors linked with an increased risk of IE in patients with MVR.
• In the case of AVR subjects, the factors connected with an increased risk of IE were male sex (HR = 1.59, 95% CI 1.33-1.89), bioprosthetic valve (HR = 1.70, 95% CI 1.35-2.15), and cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) (HR = 1.57, 95% CI 1.19-2.06).