Prognostic factors in infective endocarditis in general hospitals in the Netherlands.

INTRODUCTION: Despite advances in treatment, infective endocarditis (IE) still ranks amongst the most lethal infectious diseases. We sought to determine prognostic factors in general hospitals in the Netherlands as research in this setting is scarce. RESULTS: Between 2004 and 2011, we identified 216 cases of IE, 30.1 % of which were prosthetic valve IE. This leads to an annual incidence of IE of 5.7 new cases per 100,000 persons per year. Women were less likely to undergo surgical intervention (OR = 1.96, 95 % CI 1.06-3.61, p = 0.031). Also, ageing was an independent prognostic factor for not receiving surgery in a multivariate analysis (annual OR = 1.04, 95 % CI 1.02-1.06, p < 0.001). Female sex was a prognostic factor for mortality (OR = 2.35, 95 % CI 1.29-4.28, p = 0.005). Age was also an independent prognostic factor for mortality (OR = 1.05, 95% CI 1.03-1.08, p < 0.001). Conservative treatment was a prognostic factor for mortality (OR = 3.39, 95 % CI 1.80-6.38, p < 0.001) whereas surgical intervention was an independent prognostic factor for adverse events (OR = 3.03, 95% CI 1.64-5.55, p < 0.001). Staphylococcus aureus was an independent prognostic factor for adverse events (OR = 2.05, 95 % CI 1.10-3.84, p = 0.024) but not for mortality. CONCLUSION: This study shows that endocarditis in general hospitals has a high rate of morbidity and mortality. Even when treated, it ranks as one of the most lethal infectious diseases in the Netherlands, especially in women and the elderly.

Effects of early intervention with low-dose aspirin (100 mg) on infarct size, reinfarction and mortality in anterior wall acute myocardial infarction.

Recently, it was shown that aspirin given early in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) improves hospital survival, but the mechanisms involved are unclear. In a prospective, randomized placebo-controlled trial, the influence of early intervention with low-dose aspirin (100 mg/day) on infarct size and clinical outcome was studied in 100 consecutive patients with first anterior wall AMI. Infarct size was calculated by cumulative lactate dehydrogenase release in the first 72 hours after admission and was found to be (mean +/- standard deviation) 1,431 +/- 782 U/liter in the aspirin group (n = 50) and 1,592 +/- 1,082 U/liter in the placebo group (n = 50, p = 0.35). The study medication was given for 3 months, during which mortality was 10 (20%) in the aspirin patients and 12 (24%) in the placebo patients (p = 0.65). However, reinfarction occurred in 2 patients (4%) in the aspirin group and in 9 (18%) in the placebo group (p less than 0.03). Early intervention with low-dose aspirin showed, in comparison to placebo, a 10% decrease of infarct size, but this difference was not statistically significant. However, early low-dose aspirin effectively decreased the risk of reinfarction. Therefore, the favor able results of early aspirin on mortality in acute myocardial infarction are probably due more to prevention of reinfarction than to decrease of infarct size.

Comparison of two latex agglutination test kits for serum myoglobin in the exclusion of acute myocardial infarction.

The Myolex (Orion) and the RapiTex (Behringwerke) latex agglutination tests for the rapid detection of elevated levels of serum myoglobin were studied prospectively in patients suspected of acute myocardial infarction, who were admitted to hospital within 8 h of pain onset. Using admission blood samples drawn 3.4 +/- 2.0 h (mean +/- SD) after onset of symptoms, the negative predictive values of both tests were too low to use these assays in the early exclusion of myocardial infarction in the emergency department. However, the negative predictive values obtained with the second blood samples, drawn 4 h later, indicated that the myoglobin agglutination test could be of value in the exclusion of myocardial infarction.

A prospective study on the dose dependency of cardiotoxicity induced by mitomycin C.

Since 1975 mitomycin C (MMC) has been suggested to be cardiotoxic, especially when combined with or given following doxorubicin. Data on dose dependency or incidence concerning this side effect were not known. We have initiated a prospective study to obtain some more data on these subjects. Forty-four MMC-treated patients were studied, 37 of them could be evaluated. All patients were studied by repeated physical examinations, chest X-rays, electro- and echocardiography and radionuclide left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) determinations. The results were evaluated per cumulative dose level. One of the patients developed cardiac failure after 30 mg m-2 MMC and only 150 mg m-2 doxorubicin. The cardiac failure was predicted by a drop in EF determined during a cold pressor test. None of the other patients developed clinical cardiotoxicity, nor did the studied parameters change. The literature on this subject was also reviewed. Based on the combined data from the present study and the literature, we suggest that MMC-related cardiotoxicity is dose dependent, occurring at cumulative dose levels of 30 mg m-2 or more, mainly in patients also (previously or simultaneously) treated with doxorubicin. The incidence is likely to be less than 10% even for this risk group.

Prognostic implications of regional hyperkinesia and remote asynergy of noninfarcted myocardium.

To determine the clinical significance of regional hyperkinesia and remote asynergy of noninfarcted areas in patients with a first acute myocardial infarction (AMI), 2-dimensional echocardiography was performed in 113 consecutive patients within 12 hours after admission to the coronary care unit. In 98 patients (87%) all segments of the left ventricular wall were recorded. Infarct-associated asynergy was anterior in 63 and inferior in 35 patients. Regional hyperkinesia was present in 66 patients (67%)--44 of 63 with anterior (69%) and 22 of 35 with inferior (63%) infarcts--and was more frequently seen in patients with 1- and 2-vessel coronary artery disease (CAD) than in patients with 3-vessel CAD (87 and 72% vs 25%, p less than 0.001). In contrast to enzymatic infarct size, absence of regional hyperkinesia was significantly associated with a higher left ventricular wall motion score (p less than 0.01). Twenty patients died within 30 days after onset of AMI; in 15 (75%) regional hyperkinesia was absent. Absence of regional hyperkinesia, especially in anterior infarcts, was associated with a high mortality rate (13 of 19 patients [68%]). Remote asynergy, i.e., not adjacent to the infarct area and supposed to be related to another vascular region, was present in 17 of 98 patients (17%)--11 of 63 with anterior (17%) and 6 of 35 with inferior (17%) infarcts. Remote asynergy was present only in patients with multivessel CAD and was significantly related to a higher wall motion score (p less than 0.001), but not to enzymatic infarct size.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cross-over comparison of the fixed combination of hydrochlorothiazide and triamterene and the free combination of furosemide and triamterene in the maintenance treatment of congestive heart failure.

The fixed combination of hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg and triamterene 50 mg and the free combination of furosemide 40 mg and triamterene 50 mg were compared as maintenance treatment in patients who were in a stable condition after an episode of congestive heart failure. All the patients were on digitalis. The trial was of the cross-over design. The treatment order was randomized at each centre. Each treatment lasted for 8 weeks. Of the 37 patients entering the study 30 were suitable for analysis. Both treatments were equally effective in maintaining bodyweight at the same level and in influencing symptoms. The free combination decreased the blood pressure slightly more than the fixed combination, especially the systolic pressure. One-third of the patients were hypertensive at the outset (diastolic pressure greater than 95 mm Hg) and in them the effects of the two treatments were not significantly different. The majority of the patients (80%) preferred treatment with the fixed combination because it caused slower and less frequent micturition.

Effects of spontaneous and streptokinase-induced recanalization on left ventricular function after myocardial infarction.

The effect of recanalization of the "infarct vessel" on left ventricular (LV) function was assessed 6-8 weeks after acute myocardial infarction (MI) in two groups: patients who had streptokinase-induced recanalization during the acute phase and control patients who had spontaneous recanalization. The ejection fraction and severity of LV wall motion abnormalities in 100 patients with recanalization were compared with those in 78 patients with persistent occlusion of the infarct vessel. Among patients with inferior MI, LV function was significantly better in those with spontaneous (n = 41, p less than 0.05) and streptokinase-induced recanalization (n = 15, p less than 0.02) than in those with persistent occlusion of the infarct vessel (n = 40) in the control group. The LV function was equally good in patients with spontaneous and streptokinase-induced recanalization. Among anterior MI patients, LV function was significantly better in those with streptokinase-induced recanalization (n = 10) than in those with spontaneous recanalization (n = 34, p less than 0.01) or persistent occlusion in the control group (n = 28, p less than 0.001). We conclude that recanalization has a beneficial effect on LV function in patients with MI.