[Recent trends in the clinical characteristics of infective endocarditis: a survey of 54 consecutive cases from 2006 to 2010].

BACKGROUND: It has been reported that the clinical characteristics of infective endocarditis are changing during the course of the decades. However, most of the available data are obtained in the early 2000s or earlier. We therefore evaluated the more recent clinical spectrum of infective endocarditis. METHODS: Fifty-four consecutive patients diagnosed as infective endocarditis based on the Duke criteria at our hospital from January 2006 to December 2010 were evaluated. RESULTS: Of 54 cases, 31 (57%) were male and 23 (43%) were female, with mean age of 57 +/- 17 years. Twenty-three (43%) patients were older than 65 years. The number of patients with diabetes mellitus or undergoing chronic hemodialysis, or cancer were 9 (17%), 5 (9%), and 5 (9%), respectively. In 25 patients (46%), endocarditis occurred without any underlying cardiac disease. The frequencies of streptococcal endocarditis and staphylococcal endocarditis were almost identical [18 (33%) vs. 17 (32%)]. Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus was found in 6 patients (11%). CONCLUSIONS: A survey of patients with infective endocarditis from 2006 to 2010 revealed a trend towards increased staphylococcal endocarditis in compromised patients without prior cardiac disorders.