Abstract: Objective To summarize the experiences of treatment for prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE), paying special emphasis on some interrelated conceptions of PVE, its microbiology, diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Methods From September 1979 to September 2009, 33 patients diagnosed to have PVE were treated in our department. There were 17 males and 16 females. Their age ranged from 19 to 57 years old with an average age of 34 years. The incidence of PVE was 1.48% （33/2 236）including 1.03%（16/1 551）, 3.00%（7/233）, 2.28%（10/438）, and 0% of PVE in mitral valve replacement (MVR), aortic valve replacement (AVR), double valve replacement (DVR), tricuspid valve replacement (TVR), respectively. Pure medical treatment (Penicillin or Vancomycin with other broadspectrum antibiotics, Fluconazole and Amphotericin) was performed on 22 patients. Combined medical and surgical treatment was performed in 11 patients. The patients underwent operation after adequate antibiotics treatment and general condition improvement. The infective tissue and vegetation were completely debrided after the infective prosthetic valve was removed. Before the new valve was transplanted, paravalvular tissue was cleaned with antibiotics, iodine solution and normal saline. Results Hospital death occurred in 19 patients (86.36%) and only 3 patients (13.64%) recovered in the group with pure medical treatment. The main reasons for death were infective shock and cardiac failure in 9 patients, and cerebral complications including embolism, bleeding and multipleorgan failure in 10 patients. For the group with combined medical and surgical treatment, 10 patients (90.91%) survived and only one patient (9.09%) died of multipleorgan failure. Follow-up was done in 13 patients for 6 months to 15 years averaging 41 months. During the follow-up, only one patient was reoperated because of the paravalvular leak eight year later. There was no PVE recurrence in all the rest patients. Conclusion Compared with pure medical treatment, combined medical and surgical treatment is a better solution for PVE.
ObjectiveTo explore the clinical value of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in the diagnosis of infective endocarditis. MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the transthoracic echocardiogram in 35 patients with infective endocarditis confirmed between September 2003 and September 2013. Patients underwent routine heart scan in all sections to measure sizes of all chambers and cardiac function, observe morphologies, activities and functions of all valves and ventricular walls, and diagnose whether underlying heart diseases exist, focusing on intracardiac vegetations and their distributions, morphologies, sizes, numbers, echoes and activities, and a full analysis of the blood culture findings was also conducted. ResultsOf the 35 patients undergoing initial TTE, 29 were positive, and 6 were negative (2 positive and 4 negative in the reexamination one week later). Vegetations were found in the mitral valve (8/35), aortic valve (15/35), tricuspid valve (5/35), pulmonary valve (1/35), pulmonary arterial wall (1/35) and right ventricle (1/35), respectively. There were 29 (8 and 21 with congenital and acquired heart diseases, respectively) and 6 patients with and without underlying heart diseases, respectively. Of the 35 blood cultures, 33 were positive and 2 were negative. ConclusionsTTE is rapid and accurate for early diagnosis of infective endocarditis, precise localization and rough quantification of vegetations, determination of whether valve damage occurs and what its severity is, and detection of whether complications exist. It is valuable for early diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and prognosis judgment.