Evaluation of Systemic Microvascular Endothelial Dysfunction in Patients Presenting With Infective...
Infective EndocarditisInfective endocarditis (IE) is a severe clinical condition with a high in-hospital and 5-year mortality. It has a growing incidence, both related to healthcare and possibly to changes in prophylaxis recommendations regarding oral procedures. Though not a new disease, several aspects in its clinical and laboratory diagnosis remain to be better studied and innovated. The evaluation of systemic microvascular disease has proven crucial in the investigation and comprehension of pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases, as well as a tool for early diagnosis and prediction of complications. Few studies deal with microcirculation in patients with IE, and so far none utilizing speckle contrast imaging and functional capillary density. The present study will contribute to the investigation of microcirculatory changes in IE and possibly to earlier diagnosis of the condition and/or of its severity and complications. The aim of the study is to evaluate the changes in microvascular bed of patients with both acute and subacute endocarditis by speckle contrast imaging and skin video-capillaroscopy.
How to Improve Diagnosis in Infective Endocarditis
EndocarditisBacterialThe purpose is to exam prospective if simple clinical information in combination with a normal s-procalcitonin are sufficient for exclusion of infective endocarditis (IE).
Combination Therapy With Fluoroquinolone in Staphylococcus Aureus Bacteremia
Staphylococcus AureusBacteremia2 moreTo study whether fluoroquinolone (trovafloxacin or levofloxacin), added to standard treatment, could reduce the high mortality and complication rates in Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.
Inflammatory Mediator Profiles During Heart Valve Replacement Surgery
Infective EndocarditisValvular Heart DiseaseThe study aims at the comparative examination of pre-, intra- and post-operative release profiles of inflammatory and vasoactive mediators in patients undergoing heart valve surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) due to either infectious endocarditis or degenerative valvular heart disease. Specific attention will focus on the distinction between mediator release associated with infection and that resulting from CPB. Concomitantly identification and characterization of infectious pathogens in the circulation and in valvular samples will be carried out, together with the search for resistance-coding transcripts.
Outcomes Following Medical or Surgical Management of Endocarditis
EndocarditisInfective endocarditis is a rare disease, and while there have been several large reviews of the incidence of endocarditis in the pediatric patient population, relatively little has been published regarding the short and medium-term outcomes following medical and surgical therapy for this disease. The goal is to compare the outcome for children treated for endocarditis with either medical management or surgery by looking at the success of these two treatment strategies. Another goal is to attempt to identify risk factors for medical management that might identify patients who would be better served by early surgery.
Individualized Diagnosis of Endocarditis and Its Therapy With a Focus on Infected Prosthetic materiAL...
EndocarditisProsthetic Material Related InfectionInfective endocarditis (IE) is a frequent and serious complication of implanted intracardiac prosthetic material, with a high morbidity and mortality. Therefore, this study aims to improve outcome of IE, with a focus on patients with intracardiac prosthetic material. In this study the investigators deal with research questions about both the diagnosis (microbiological, imaging, and expert opinion) and treatment of IE (with antimicrobial agents and surgical), in order to improve these clinical components and ultimately aim to improve outcome.
Human Cardiac Mitochondria in Acute Endocarditis and Obesity
ObesityEndocarditisData about human cardiac mitochondria are cruelly lacking in the literature. However, damages of the activity of these organelles are often the source of abnormal cardiac function in several pathologies. The purpose of this study is to develop a model of purified human cardiac mitochondria, to verify the purity of these organelles and to validate the authenticity of their function in acute endocarditis and obesity, two situations known to alter their activity. Animal studies have shown that microbial infection reduced mitochondrial metabolism whereas obesity increases it. The investigator's hypotheses are the following: 1) acute endocarditis, a form of cardiac microbial infection, reduces the function of human cardiac mitochondria; 2) obesity (body mass index > 30) activates the metabolism of human cardiac mitochondria.
PET CT in Suspected CIED Infection, a Pilot Study - PET Guidance I
ComplicationsInfective Endocarditis2 moreThe aim of this single-center randomized controlled trial is to assess clinical usefulness of positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (PET CT) in the diagnostic process of suspected cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) infection (lead dependent infective endocarditis, generator pocket infection, fever of unknown origin).
Contemporary Transvenous Lead Extraction Outcomes
Pacemaker Lead DysfunctionPacemaker Electrode Infection2 morePresentation of procedural safety and outcomes data from a high volume TLE centre
Combination Treatment for Enterococcus Faecalis Bacteriemia Multicenter, Observational Study"
Enterococcal BacteraemiaEnterococcus Faecalis Infection2 moreProspective, multicenter, observational study on the evaluation of efficacy of appropriate monotherapy vs combination treatment for non-complicated Enterococcus faecalis bloodstream infection (EF-BSI). The aims of our study are: Primary: To compare the efficacy of appropriate monotherapy vs combination treatment for EF-BSI, according to standard of care. Secondary: To compare the impact on clinical outcome of the initial combination therapy in the subgroup of patients with enterococcal endocarditis. In this case we will evaluate only the antibiotic treatment administered before the diagnosis of endocarditis assuming that any case of endocarditis will be treated with a combination therapy. To compare the efficacy of combination treatment (vs monotherapy) in the following subgroup of patients: A. Patients with low versus high risk of endocarditis according with the "Number of positive blood cultures, Origin of the bacteremia, previous Valve disease, Auscultation of heart murmur (NOVA) score". B. Patients with metastatic septic localizations. C. Patients with catheter-related BSI. D. Patients with indwelling cardiovascular device or prosthetic valve. To validate the NOVA score as a predictor of enterococcal endocarditis in a large multicentre cohort of patients with EF-BSI. To estimate optimal duration of treatment of EF-BSI in patients without endocarditis. To evaluate the rate of 90-day development of Clostridium difficile infection. The promoting center is S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital is a 1,420-bed tertiary care University Hospital in Bologna with an average of 72,000 admissions per year. A dedicate team of Infectious Diseases (ID) specialists is active in the promoting center. Investigators of this team have already coordinated multicenter studies on infections topics. Centers from other countries will be invited to participate by email, they will be ask to fulfil an agreement form. All consecutive, unselected patients with monomicrobial EF-BSI will be screened for study inclusion. We expect to enroll about 500 patients. Period of data collection will be from september 2019 to 31th December 2020.