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You are here: Contents > 2012 > Volume 21 Number 6 November 2012 > MISCELLANEOUS > Surgical Treatment of Infective Endocarditis in Patients Undergoing Chronic Hemodialysis

Surgical Treatment of Infective Endocarditis in Patients Undergoing Chronic Hemodialysis

Kentaro Yamane, Hitoshi Hirose, Linda J. Bogar, Nicholas C. Cavarocchi, James T. Diehl
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Background and aim of the study: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a devastating complication in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis (HD). The study aim was to reveal the characteristics and outcomes of surgically managed IE in chronic
HD patients.
Methods: Between April 1998 and August 2011, a total of 119 patients underwent surgery to treat IE. Of these patients, 16 were receiving chronic HD preoperatively. A comparison between non-HD patients (n = 103) and HD patients (n = 16) was conducted with regards to perioperative variables and postoperative morbidity and mortality.
A survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method.
Results: Preoperatively, a greater proportion of HD patients had diabetes mellitus than did non-HD patients (44% versus 16% , p = 0.015). Staphylococcus spp. (56%) and Enterococcus spp. (25%) were the predominant microorganisms in HD patients, while Staphylococcus spp. (37%) and Streptococcus spp. (21%) were predominant in non-HD patients.

The most affected valve position was the aortic valve, followed by the mitral and the tricuspid in both groups. An annular reconstruction was performed in 56% of HD patients and in 30% of non-HD patients (p = 0.039). The HD patients had a higher incidence of perioperative use of intra-aortic balloon pump placement (25% versus 6.9%, p = 0.042), postoperative open-chest management (38% versus 9.8%, p = 0.009), and prolonged ventilation (63% versus 33%,
p = 0.025). The operative mortality was 9.7% in non-HD patients and 38% in HD patients (p = 0.008). Survival at one year was 82% in the non-HD group and 34% in the HD group (p <0.001). Multivariable analysis revealed that chronic HD is an independent predictor of operative and long-term mortality.
Conclusion: The operative outcome after endocarditis in HD patients remains poor, and the importance of preventing endocarditis in chronic HD patients is further emphasized.


The Journal of Heart Valve Disease 2012;21:774-782
Surgical Treatment of Infective Endocarditis in Patients Undergoing Chronic Hemodialysis

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