title: Immediate and long-term results of emergency aortic valve replacement in acute bacterial endocarditis.
abstract: A surgically treated material comprising 18 patinets with heart failure from aortic insufficiency during acute endocarditis has been reviewed. At the time of operation the mean duration of heart failure was 3 weeks and duration of endocarditis 9 weeks. Blood culture was positive in half of the patients, 39% had predisposing valve disease, 14 (78%) had a preoperative heart catheterization. The peroperatively measured regurgitation averaged 55%. All 18 patients had an artifical valve implanted, and the mean observation time for 13 long-term survivors was 3 1/3 years. There were 3 postoperative and 2 late deaths. A long-term survival rate of 73% strongly supports early surgical treatment in patients with aortic insufficiency and heart failure during acute endocarditis.
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001022:Aortic Valve Insufficiency / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D004630:Emergencies; D004697:Endocarditis, Bacterial / Q000601:surgery*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality; D013997:Time Factors