Demographic Characteristics, Clinical Presentation, Underlying Conditions, and Outcome of Infective Endocarditis

The understanding of the epidemiology and demographic patterns of diseases can accelerate diagnosis and treatment, as well as decrease morbidity and mortality. This study was performed to determine the epidemiological pattern of infective endocarditis in the city of Ahvaz, Iran. In this cross-sectional study, 79 patients with infective endocarditis were studied between 2004 and 2013 in Razi Teaching Hospital affiliated to the Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences. The diagnosis was made based on the Duke criteria. The data were recorded in a checklist for epidemiologic data including age, gender, time to defervescence, etc. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 18 software. Amongthe sample of 79 patients, the frequency was highest inmen(n = 65, 82.3%) and in the age group of 26 - 35 years (38%). The fever was resolved in 49 (49.4%) patients after four days whereas 19 (24.1%) patients had no fever. The mostcommonpredisposing factor was being an intravenous drug user, which was true for 44 (55.7%) patients. The mostcommonaffected valve was the tricuspid valve, as seen in 43 (54.4%) patients. The most common peripheral manifestation was musculoskeletal manifestations seen in 13 (16.5%) patients. Blood cultures were positive in 12 (15.2%) patients. Fifteen (19%) patients expired during the study period and 64 patients were improved, of whom 23.4% required surgical intervention. Appropriate diagnosis is necessary for decreasing mortality.