Prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) represents an uncommon and very serious complication after heart valve surgery. Prosthetic valve endocarditis occurs in 1% to 6% of patients with valve prostheses and affects both mechanical and biological valves [1]. Up to 34% of all cases of infective endocarditis involve prosthetic heart valves. Prosthetic valve endocarditis represents a nosographic entity...

Prosthetic valves have revolutionized the way we treat patients with valvular disease. Before the advent of these valves patient’s options were limited and morbidity and mortality high. In the early 1960’s valve replacement surgery was introduced which dramatically changed the management of these patients. Prosthetic valve technology continues to evolve and surgeons have multiple options to off...

We studied the value of two-dimensional Doppler echocardiographic color flow mapping for identifying normal transvalve flow profiles and valve malfunction in 20 patients with Björk-Shiley prosthetic valves. Seven patients had Björk-Shiley prosthetic valves in the aortic position alone, seven in the mitral position, and six had prosthetic valves in both the aortic and mitral positions. In 10 pat...

AIMS The aim of the study was to evaluate the long-term results of allograft and prosthetic valve replacement in the treatment of infective aortic valve endocarditis with periannular abscess. METHODS Between March 1988 and March 1996, 65 patients underwent surgery for active aortic valve endocarditis and paravalvular abscess. The indications for surgery were congestive heart failure, systemic...

OBJECTIVES Proper valve selection is critical to ensure appropriate valve replacement for patients, because implantation of a small valve might place the patient at risk for persistent gradients. Labeled valve size is not the same as millimeter measure of prosthetic valve diameters or the annulus into which it will fit. Studies that use the labeled valve size in lieu of actual measured diameter...

Staphylococcus epidermidis is one of the most common causes of infections of prosthetic heart valves (prosthetic valve endocarditis [PVE]) and an increasingly common cause of infections of native heart valves (native valve endocarditis [NVE]). While S. epidermidis typically causes indolent infections of prosthetic devices, including prosthetic valves and intravascular catheters, S. epidermidis ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Transcranial Doppler can detect cerebral microemboli. These emboli may be a risk factor for embolic stroke. We studied the prevalence of microemboli in patients referred for echocardiography. METHODS Forty-two patients were evaluated. Patients were studied with continuous monitoring over one middle cerebral artery for 30 minutes, and the number of microemboli was record...

The nondiphtheriae corynebacteria are uncommon but increasingly recognized as agents of endocarditis in patients with underlying structural heart disease or prosthetic-valves. We describe three cases of nosocomial endocarditis caused by nondiphtheriae corynebacteria, including the first reported case of Corynebacterium amycolatum, endocarditis. These all occurred in association with indwelling ...

OBJECTIVE Life expectancy of cryopreserved allografts implanted in infants is different from those implanted in adults. A morphological study of explanted allograft heart valves was performed to determine the mechanism of deterioration and to compare cryopreserved arterial and heart valve allografts from adult patients with those explanted from infants. METHOD Between 1987 and 1996, 209 cryop...

Bacterial endocarditis is an infection of the endothelial surface of the heart, including heart valves and is potentially life threatening. Antibiotic prophylaxis is indicated prior to invasive procedures in patients with certain high-risk cardiac conditions and thorough history needs to be elicited prior to performing such procedures. Herein, we present a case of splenorenal infarction seconda...