Infectious Endocarditis: A year of changing patterns

• Autor(a) principal: Jerónimo, Ana
• Data de Publicação: 2006
• Outros Autores: Almeida, Madalena, Silva, Anabela, Costa, Ana, Vasconcelos, Alexandre, Rodrigues, Cristina, Pinto, Olímpia, Capucho, Rosário
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Texto Completo: https://revista.spmi.pt/index.php/rpmi/article/view/1622
• topic: endodocardite infeciosa; padrões de mudança; epidemiologia; Infectious endocarditis; changing patterns; epidemiology

The authors made a retrospective analysis of 15 case reports of infectious endocarditis diagnosed in 2004, which represented a significant increase in comparison to the four previous years. The objective was to look for epidemiological and clinical characteristics that could justify this increase. In 2004 the mean age increased about a decade and the predisposing factors were inverted. Valvular heart disease has assumed relevance and there was a decrease of about 50% in drug abuse and HIV infection among patients with endocarditis. The sub-acute clinical presentation almost doubled and fever was the only manifestation that remained unchanged during these years. The pathogens isolated in blood cultures were different with an important reduction in MRSA. There was an increase in embolic cerebral complications and valvular complications with urgent need for surgery but significantly less mortality. Conclusion: in 2004 there was a signifi cant increase in infectious endocarditis with a change in the epidemiological, clinical and microbiological patterns. A causal factor that could explain all these changes was not identified.