Surgical Management of Patients with Infective Endocarditis : A Systematic Review

Abstract

Introduction: Replacement of the heart valves has been spread recently with wide variety of types and surgical techniques. There is, however, no consensus regarding the best type and/or techniques of the surgical treatment of infective endocarditis. Objective: The aim of the systematic review was to evaluate the evidence-based published articles dealt with different types of valve replacement in the management of infective endocarditis. Methods: An electronic search was conducted on the electronic search engine PubMed including Medline. Keywords used for this research included; infective endocarditis, bacterial endocarditis, surgery, valve replacement, outcomes, timing, mortality, relapse and death. Results: Among the screened articles there were a total of 11 articles included for this systematic review. Out of which, there were 6 prospective randomized clinical trials and the remaining 5 studies were prospective clinical trials without randomization. Conclusion: From the findings of this review it can be concluded that the infective endocarditis is still a life-threatening disease requires more efforts for prevention and management. Surgical treatment of infective endocarditis with prosthetic or biologic valves does not differ significantly in outcomes or complications with a little bit higher in complications when using biologic valves.