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The extra-cardiac work-up in infective endocarditis (IE) comprises a search for primary and secondary infective foci. Whether 18FDG-PET/CT or WBC-SPECT/CT is superior in detection of clinically relevant extra-cardiac manifestations in IE is unexplored. The objectives of this study were to identify the numbers of positive findings detected by each imaging modality, to evaluate the clinical relevance of these findings and to define the reproducibility for extra-cardiac foci in patients with definite IE. Each modality was evaluated for numbers and location of positive extra-cardiac foci in patients with definite IE. A team of 2 × 2 cardiologists evaluated each finding to determine clinical relevance. Clinical utility was determined by 4 criteria converted into an ordinal scale. Using the manifestation with highest clinical utility rating in each patient, the clinical impact of the two imaging modalities was expressed in a clinical utility score. To evaluate reproducibility for each modality, an imaging core laboratory reviewed all findings. In 55 IE patients, 91 pathological foci were found by FDG-PET/CT and 37 foci were identified by WBC-SPECT/CT (p < 0.001). The clinical utility of FDG-PET/CT was significantly higher than that of WBC-SPECT/CT when comparing clinical utility score (2.06 vs. 1.17; p = 0.01). In assessment of extra-cardiac diagnostics in IE, inter-observer reproducibility was substantial for WBC-SPECT/CT (k 0.69, 95% CI 0.49-0.89) and substantial to excellent for FDG-PET/CT (k 0.79, 95% CI 0.61-0.98). FDG-PET/CT has a significantly higher clinical utility score than WBC SPECT/CT and is potentially superior to WBC-SPECT/CT in detection of extra-cardiac pathology in patients with IE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background -- Staphylococcus aureus left-sided native valve infective endocarditis (LNVIE) has higher complication and mortality rates compared with endocarditis from other pathogens. Whether echocardiographic variables can predict prognosis in S aureus LNVIE is unknown. Methods and Results -- Consecutive patients with LNVIE, enrolled between January 2000 and September 2006, in the International Collaboration on Endocarditis were identified. Subjects without S aureus IE were matched to those with S aureus IE by the propensity of having S aureus. Survival differences were determined using log-rank significance tests. Independent echocardiographic predictors of mortality were identified using Cox-proportional hazards models that included inverse probability of treatment weighting and surgery as a time-dependent covariate. Of 727 subjects with LNVIE and 1-year follow-up, 202 had S aureus IE. One-year survival rates were significantly lower for patients with S aureus IE overall (57% S aureus IE versus 80% non-S aureus IE; P<0.001) and in the propensity-matched cohort (59% S aureus IE versus 68% non-S aureus IE; P<0.05). Intracardiac abscess (hazard ratio, 2.93; 95% confidence interval, 1.52-5.40; P<0.001) and left ventricular ejection fraction <40% (odds ratio, 3.01; 95% confidence interval, 1.35-6.04; P=0.004) were the only independent echocardiographic predictors of in-hospital mortality in S aureus LNVIE. Valve perforation (hazard ratio, 2.16; 95% confidence interval, 1.21-3.68; P=0.006) and intracardiac abscess (hazard ratio, 2.25; 95% confidence interval, 1.26-3.78; P=0.004) were the only independent predictors of 1-year mortality. Conclusions -- S aureus is an independent predictor of 1-year mortality in subjects with LNVIE. In S aureus LNVIE, intracardiac abscess and left ventricular ejection fraction <40% independently predicted in-hospital mortality and intracardiac abscess and valve perforation independently predicted 1-year mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Enterococcus faecalis is the third most frequent cause of infective endocarditis (IE). Despite this, no systematic prospective echocardiography studies have examined the prevalence of IE in patients with E. faecalis bacteremia.Objectives: This study sought to determine the prevalence of IE in patients with E. faecalis bacteremia. The secondary objective was to identify predictors of IE.Methods: From January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2016, a prospective multicenter study was conducted with echocardiography in consecutive patients with E. faecalis bacteremia. Predictors of IE were assessed using multivariate logistic regression with backward elimination.Results: A total of 344 patients with E. faecalis bacteremia were included, all examined using echocardiography, including transesophageal echocardiography in 74% of the cases. The patients had a mean age of 74.2 years, and 73.5% were men. Definite endocarditis was diagnosed in 90 patients, resulting in a prevalence of 26.1 ± 4.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]). Risk factors for IE were prosthetic heart valve (odds ratio [OR]: 3.93; 95% CI: 1.76 to 8.77; p = 0.001), community acquisition (OR: 3.35; 95% CI: 1.74 to 6.46; p < 0.001), ≥3 positive blood culture bottles (OR: 3.69; 95% CI: 1.88 to 7.23; p < 0.001), unknown portal of entry (OR: 2.36; 95% CI: 1.26 to 4.40; p = 0.007), monomicrobial bacteremia (OR: 2.73; 95% CI: 1.23 to 6.05; p = 0.013), and immunosuppression (OR: 2.82; 95% CI: 1.20 to 6.58; p = 0.017).Conclusions: This study revealed a high prevalence of 26% definite IE in patients with E. faecalis bacteremia, suggesting that echocardiography should be considered in all patients with E. faecalis bacteremia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Current guidelines suggest that patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB) be treated with cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT); however, one-third do not have a significant activation delay, which can result in nonresponse. By identifying characteristic opposing wall contraction, 2-dimensional strain echocardiography (2DSE) may detect true LBBB activation. Objectives This study sought to investigate whether the absence of a typical LBBB mechanical activation pattern by 2DSE was associated with unfavorable long-term outcome and if this is additive to electrocardiographic (ECG) morphology and duration. Methods From 2 centers, 208 CRT candidates (New York Heart Association classes II to IV, ejection fraction ≤35%, QRS duration ≥120 ms) with LBBB by ECG were prospectively included. Before CRT implantation, longitudinal strain in the apical 4-chamber view determined whether typical LBBB contraction was present. The pre-defined outcome was freedom from death, left ventricular assist device, or heart transplantation over 4 years. Results Two-thirds of patients (63%) had a typical LBBB contraction pattern. During 4 years, 48 patients (23%) reached the primary endpoint. Absence of a typical LBBB contraction was independently associated with increased risk of adverse outcome after adjustment for ischemic heart disease and QRS width (hazard ratio [HR]: 3.1; 95% CI: 1.64 to 5.88; p < 0.005). Adding pattern assessment to a risk prediction model including QRS duration and ischemic heart disease significantly improved the net reclassification index to 0.14 (p = 0.04) and improved the C-statistics (0.63 [95% CI: 0.54 to 0.72] vs. 0.71 [95% CI: 0.63 to 0.80]; p = 0.02). Use of strict LBBB ECG criteria was not independently associated with outcome in the multivariate model (HR: 1.72; 95% CI: 0.89 to 3.33; p = 0.11. Assessment of LBBB contraction pattern was superior to time-to-peak indexes of dyssynchrony (p < 0.01 for all). Conclusions Contraction pattern assessment to identify true LBBB activation provided important prognostic information in CRT candidates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]