8^th Global Cardiologists and Echocardiography Annual Meeting

Biography

Biography: Marco Picichè

Abstract

Introduction: Heart valve infectious endocarditis represents a fatal event if left untreated. The onset of an abscess has an impact on the surgical indication and strategy. We reviewed our experience with this serious complication. Material & Methods: Data of 74 patients have been retrospectively analyzed using the department's database. Operations were performed over an 8-year and 7-month period, from July 2007 to January 2016, by different operating surgeons. Patients presenting one or more abscesses were included in the study. Morbidity and mortality rate within 30 days were reviewed. Results: There were 8 males and 5 females. Age ranged from 33 to 77 years (mean 60±15). Various surgical procedures have been performed, such as aortic or/and mitral valve replacement, mitral or/and tricuspid valve repair and a freestyle prosthetic valve implant in pulmonary position. Moreover, in two patients surgery was extended to the asceneding aorta, and in 1 case a coronary artery bypass graft was performed. A patch technique was adopted whenever necessary. Overall, 11 patients survived. Two patients died, one due to septic shock and the other due to pneumonia. Conclusion: The onset of abscesses represents a serious complication of heart valve infectious endocarditis that increases the complexity of operations. This, however, does not directly affect the 30-day mortality-rate, which appears to be influenced, in contrast, by the dissemination of infection.