Abstract
BACKGROUND: Infective endocarditis (IE) may present with a broad spectrum of symptoms and signs and several tools can be used for diagnosis. Many protocols can be used for in-hospital and out-patient management. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical features, tools used and outcomes of patients diagnosed with IE in one of the tertiary-care university hospitals. METHODS: This study included 90 consecutive patients admitted to the Cardiology Department in a tertiary-care university hospital in Egypt with a diagnosis of IE. RESULTS: The mean age of the studied population was 36.72 years and 76.67% were males. The most common underlying condition was valvular heart disease (48.89%), followed by intravenous drug use (26.67%) and the most common risk factor was smoking (48.89%). The most common clinical presentation was fever (69.67%), followed by dyspnoea (55.56%), and the mean duration from symptom onset until admission was 13.28 ± 9.29 days. Positive cultures were encountered in 45.56% of patients. Surgery was indicated in 91.11% of the patients but it was performed in only 28.89%. Almost a third of patients (34.44%) died in the hospital. After one year of follow up, a further 8.47% of the patients had died, 11.86% had heart failure and 6.78% had undergone a re-do surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Nowadays IE tends to affect a younger group of patients and valvular heart disease is the main underlying condition. The mortality rate due to IE is high in developing countries and IE does not have only immediate and short-term complications, its effects extend to a longer period of time.