Surgical treatment of valvular defects in active infectious endocarditis

Aim. To elucidate significance of early diagnosis and results of surgical treatment of valvular defects in active infectious endocarditis (AIE). Materials and methods. Surgical outcomes were analyzed for 437 AIE patients with active AIE: The operation was made 10 months, on the average, after AIE onset. Results. Total hospital lethality made up 11.2%. Total 5-year survival with account for hospital death was 77-80% in replacement of one valve and 61.6% in replacement of two valves (mitral and aortic). In natural course of the disease it was 16%. Conclusion. There was a direct relationship between hospital lethality and admission condition of the patients, advance of the inflammation. This urges early AIE detection and performance of operation before development of irreversible changes in the myocardium and other organs.