title: Long-Term Outcomes of Mitral Valve Repair for Active Endocarditis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The long-term outcomes of mitral valve (MV) repair for active infective endocarditis (AE) are not well known, so the present study examined results from >5 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We retrospectively reviewed 43 patients who underwent primary MV repair for AE at a single center between 1991 and 2009. Patients' mean age was 50.9 years, and 39% were female. The mean follow-up was 7.4 years, and 90.7% of the patients had serial echocardiographic studies over the years. We examined the data for mortality, mitral reoperation, and recurrent significant mitral regurgitation (MR). There were no early deaths but 6 late deaths. Survival was 92.6±4.1% for 5 years, and 83.5±7.3% for 10 years. The respective 5- and 10-year rates of freedom from MV reoperation were 90.5±4.5% and 86.6±5.8%, and for freedom from moderate or severe MR were 95.0±3.5 and 86.1±6.7%. Recurrence of endocarditis was observed in 2 patients (4.7%). Most (86%) of the survivors were in New York Heart Association class I.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MV repair for AE is durable and offers acceptable long-term outcomes with low rates of recurrence and reoperation. (Circ J 2016; 80: 1148-1152).
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital.
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kanemitsu
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Naoto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fukunaga
authors.forename: Tadaaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koyama
mesh_terms: D004696:Endocarditis / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000601:surgery*; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome