Prosthetic valve endocarditis

Introduction. Infective endocarditis in prosthetic heart valves is one of the most severe forms of this disease of difficult diagnosis and associated with high mortality. Objective. To describe the characteristics of prosthetic valve endocarditis. Method: An observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted from 2006 to 2019 at Hospital Hermanos Amelleiras. The sample consisted of 40 patients. Descriptive statistics such as arithmetic mean and standard deviation were used for continuous quantitative variables, and percentage for qualitative ones. Results. The average age of the patients was 54.29+16.07 years old, predominating those between 40-49 and 60-69 years old, as well as males (67.5%); the most frequent type of endocarditis was the late one (65%). Oral sepsis (27.5%) and previous surgery (25%) %) were the most frequent entry points. Negative cultures (40%) and coagulase-negative staphylococcus causative agents (25%) and staphylococcus aureus (10%) prevailed. Heart failure (32%) and kidney failure (22.5%) were the most frequent complications, and 20% of cases had suture dehiscence. The 52.5% of patients received surgical treatment and the mortality was of the 30%. Conclusion. Late endocarditis predominated, with negative blood cultures and of aortic valve prosthesis. Prosthesis dehiscence was the most frequent echocardiographic finding and the heart failure, the most frequent complication. The surgical treatment was the most used, and the mortality, adjusted for this disease, was low.