What are the long-term results of cardiac valve replacements in left sided endocarditis with a history of i.v. drug abuse?

September 18, 2006

September 29, 2006

Alexander Wahba and Dag Nordhaug, Cardiothoracic Registrars (St. Elisabeth Department of Heart and Lung Surgery, St. Olavs, University Hospital Trondheim and Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Norway)

Joel Dunning, St. Elisabeth Department of Heart and Lung Surgery, St. Olavs, University Hospital Trondheim and Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Norway

In [i.v. drug users with left sided endocardits] does a [tissue or mechanical heart valve] affect [long-term mortality]?

You are about to perform an urgent aortic valve replacement in a 32-year-old male who has been treated for endocarditis with destruction of the native aortic valve, leading to congestive heart failure. The patient has been an i.v. drug user (IVDU) for several years. He has a supportive family and has already been accepted into a methadone program in your community. In order to decide whether you should insert a mechanical heart valve or a tissue valve, you would like to learn about the long-term results of valve replacement in this clinical setting.

Medline 1966–March 2006 using the OVID interface

[exp Substance Abuse, Intravenous/OR exp Substance Related-Disorders/OR drug abuser.mp OR drug user$.mp OR addict$.mp] AND [exp Endocarditis, Bacterial OR endocarditis.mp or exp Endocarditis/or exp Endocarditis, Subacute Bacterial/]. In addition, the search was re-performed omitting the term [exp heart valve prosthesis/].

A total of 286 publications were reviewed and 9 papers describing cohort studies on more than 10 patients were selected as representing the best evidence on the subject

The largest study was published by Mathew et al. Out of 80 surgical patients included in the series, 65 had a left sided valve replacement (27 mechanical prosthesis and 38 bioprosthesis). The 30-day mortality was 7.6% and late mortality was 19% for the whole series. Survival at 5 years was 70%. Thirty percent developed at least one major cardiovascular event. The results for patients with left sided endocarditis were not given separately.
The most contemporary series was published by Mestres et al. summarizing the experience with 31 HIV-positive patients. Twenty of them had endocarditis and were IVDUs (15 left sided). Bioprosthesis and mechanical prosthesis were inserted. The hospital mortality in the endocarditis group was 23.8% and 3-year survival was 35%. The commonest cause of death was a drug overdose. Only one patient died from recurrent endocarditis.

The study by Chong et al. includes 22 HIV-positive patients, 20 were IVDUs and suffered from left sided endocarditis. The hospital moratility was 0%, late mortality was 50% at 4 years and there was a 25% recurrence rate for endocarditis. All patients who continued on IVDU were dead within 10 years. None of those who discontinued IVDU developed recurrent endocarditis. The authors recommend using mechanical prosthesis because it prevents reoperations in those who discontinue IVDU. The type of prosthesis has no influence on survival in those who continue IVDU.

The series published by Arbulu et al. covers a time span of 17 years and comprises a large number of patients with endocarditis who were IVDUs. The paper includes the results on 110 patients who were operated on for endocarditis, 60 had left sided endocarditis. The early results for the whole group was a 15% mortality and a 21% late mortality. A separate analysis for patients with left sided endocarditis is not given. One hundred and seventy-five percent of surviving patients abandoned IVDU and were apparently long-term survivors. All 23 patients who continued using i.v. drugs eventually died. Eleven of these patients were reoperated for recurrent endocarditis and the authors conclude that reoperation in this patient group is contraindicated.

The reports of Levitsky et al. and Mammana et al. cover different aspects of surgery for endocarditis in IVDU using data from the same institution. Levitsky et al. report on 28 patients with left sided endocarditis who were subjected to bioprosthetic valve replacement. Thirty-day mortality was 3.5% and long term mortality was 37%. Ten patients required reoperation for recurrent endocarditis. All of these patients had continued IVDU. Mamman's report covers exclusively left sided endocarditis. The 30-day mortality was 11% and overall mortality 50%. All deaths occurred within 9 months of the initial operation, mostly due to persistent sepsis. Fifty-six percent of survivors admitted to continued drug addiction.

Hiratzka et al. in 1979 reported a retrospective cohort study on 32 consecutive patients undergoing surgery for endocarditis over a six year period including 16 patients with IVDU. Thirty-day mortality was comparable in IVDU and non-IVDU (6% vs. 7%). Seven of the 17 hospital survivors (41%) with IVDU died during follow-up, 5 of them due to continued IVDU (3 patients died of an overdose and 2 due to recurrent infection). In non-IVDU only one patient died during follow up (8%). Seven patients developed prosthetic endocarditis, 6 of them in the IVDU group. All patients in the IVDU group returned to their addiction.

Ninety-seven episodes of endocarditis in 79 patients with IVDU were retrospectively reviewed by Hubbel et al. A cardiac valve replacement was performed in 24 patients with left sided endocarditis. The perioperative mortality was 16%. Twenty-four percent of the surgical patients developed recurrent endocarditis and 11 patients died during follow up. Thus, nearly 60% of the surgical patients with left sided endocarditis were dead at a maximum follow up of 29 months.

Frater published a large series on 57 patients (43 left sided endocarditis). The study was excluded because 37% of patients were lost to follow up.

Cardiac valve replacement in IVDUs with left sided endocarditis carries a substantial long-term mortality. Continued IVDU leading to recurrent endocarditis and death from drug overdose are the commonest causes of morbidity and mortality. HIV infection seems to have little influence on survival according to the literature. Patients who discontinue IVDU have a favorable prognosis and implantation of a mechanical prosthesis is warranted. Every effort should be made to prevent these patients from returning to IVDU. We recommend consulting experts locally, since excellent results with abstinence in up to 80% of addicts may be in some methadone substitution programs [Kornor ].

1. Mathew J, Abreo G, Namburi K, Narra L, Franklin C.. Results of surgical treatment for infective endocarditis in intravenous drug users.
2. Mestres CA, Chuquiure JE, Claramonte X, Munoz J, Benito N, Castro MA, Pomar JL, Miro JM.. Long-term results after cardiac surgery in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1).
3. Chong T, Alejo DE, Greene PS, Redmond JM, Sussman MS, Baumgartner WA, Cameron DE.. Cardiac valve replacement in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients.
4. Arbulu A, Asfaw I.. Management of infective endocarditis: seventeen years' experience.
5. Levitsky S, Mammana RB, Silverman NA, Weber F, Hiro S, Wright RN.. Acute endocarditis in drug addicts: surgical treatment for gram-negative sepsis.
6. Mammana RB, Levitsky S, Sernaque D, Beckman CB, Silverman NA.. Valve replacement for left-sided endocarditis in drug addicts.
7. Hiratzka LF, Nelson RJ, Oliver CB, Jengo JA.. Operative experience with infective endocarditis. Drug users compared with non-drug users.
8. Hubbell G, Cheitlin MD, Rapaport E.. Presentation, management, and follow-up evaluation of infective endocarditis in drug addicts.
9. Frater RW.. Surgical management of endocarditis in drug addicts and long-term results.
10. Kornor H, Waal H.. From opioid maintenance to abstinence: a literature review.