Epidemiological Profile of Patients with Infective Endocarditis at three Tertiary Centers in Brazil from 2003 to 2017

Abstract Background Infective endocarditis (IE) is a disease with high morbimortality and an increasing incidence. With improved diagnosis and treatment, a number of epidemiological changes have been reported over time. Objectives We sought to describe the epidemiological profile, mortality predictors, and analysis of a possible microbiological transition in patients admitted to three tertiary centers in Brazil. Methods In this cross-sectional retrospective study, data from 211 patients with definite or probable IE were analyzed according to the modified Duke criteria between 2003 and 2017. The association between categorical variables was assessed using the chi-square or Fisher's exact test, and binary logistic models were built to investigate mortality. We considered p <0.05 statistically significant. Results The median age of the sample was 48 (33-59) years old, 70.6% were men, and the most prevalent pathogen was Staphylococcus spp. (19%). Mortality was 22.3%, with increasing age being the leading risk factor for death (p = 0.028). Regarding the location of the disease, native valves were the most affected site, with the aortic valve being more affected in men than women (p = 0.017). The mean number of cases of Staphylococcus spp. (τ = 0.293, p = 0.148) and Streptococcus spp. (τ = -0.078, p = 0.727) has remained stable over the years. Conclusion No trend towards reduced or increased mortality was evident between 2003 and 2017. Although Staphylococcus spp. were the most prevalent pathogen, the expected epidemiological transition could not be observed.

Association between Insulin use and Infective Endocarditis: An Observational Study

Abstract Background: The association between Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and Infective Endocarditis (IE) is controversial in the literature, since many controversial results have been published. However, when evaluating specifically the evidence on IE and individuals with DM using insulin, we found only two observational studies that considered this variable, with discordant results regarding the prognosis and prevalence of Staphylococcus sp in insulin users compared to non-users. Despite the lack of evidence, in clinical practice the insulin use could be interpreted as minor criteria "injection drug use", using the modified Duke criteria for IE diagnosis. Objectives: To compare the microbiological and valvar profile, as well as the outcome of non-diabetic and diabetic patients with IE who were insulin users or not. Methods: This was an observational, analytical and retrospective study of patients diagnosed with IE between 2003 and 2015 in three tertiary care centers. A total of 211 patients were included, of which 17 were diabetics and 9 were insulin users. Patients were compared using the Shapiro-Wilk normality test and Fisher's exact test, with a significance level of 5%. Results: The mortality from IE in diabetic individuals was higher than that of non-diabetic patients, but with no statistical significance (35.29% vs. 21.1%; p = 0.221), even when the groups were divided into insulin-user diabetic, non-insulin user diabetic and non-diabetic patients (33.3% vs. 37.5% vs. 21.1%, p = 0.229). There was a difference regarding the prevalence of IE caused by S. aureus (57.1% vs. 14.3% vs. 17.4%, p = 0.029) and the involvement of the tricuspid valve (33.3% vs. 0.00% vs. 10.0%, p = 0.034) among insulin users. Conclusion: In our sample, insulin use or the presence of DM did not mean higher in-hospital mortality from IE. It is not possible to generalize the microbiological and valvar findings due to the lack of studies evaluating insulin users in IE; however, particularities have been previously reported and may indicate a different behavior of IE in these patients. New studies considering the insulin use variable are required to elucidate the association between DM and IE.