Infective endocarditis cases in Istanbul-Turkey: Evaluation of bacteriological, serological and molecular methods on the microbiological diagnosis of infective endocarditis

Abstract

Objective: In spite of being an infectious disease with low incidence, infective endocarditis (IE) has a high mortality risk. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the added values of bacteriological, serological, and molecular methods for the diagnosis of infective endocarditis in Istanbul, Turkey. Material and Methods: The study has a multicentre prospective design. Fifty adult patients (age > 14 years), who were hospitalized at the Department of Cardiology of Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine in Istanbul University, at Haseki Cardiology Institute in Istanbul University, and at Siyami Ersek Cardiovascular Surgery Hospital with the diagnosis of IE, were included in this study. Results: We have gathered 50 IE cases for the study. The mean age of the patients was 47 years. Causative microorganisms were detected in 37 patients (74%), and undefined causative agents were found in 13 (26%) patients. Causative microorganisms were staphylococci (28%), streptococci (12%), enterococci (8%), and Brucella melitensis (4%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2%), Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (2%), Peptostreptococcus anaerobius (2%), Candida parapsilosis (4%), Bartonella henselae (8%) and Chlamydophila pneumoniae (4%). Conclusion: In this study, among the cases in which the etiological agents were detected, 31 (62%) were culture-positive and 19 (38%) were culture-negative. To reduce the rate of culture-negative cases, samples for blood culture should be collected carefully, and new diagnostic techniques should be used.