185 Infectious endocarditis characteristics about 94 cases hospitalized in Cardiology Unit of Beni Messous Universitary hospital in Algeriers

Background Infectious endocarditis (IE) epidemiologic profile changes in time. Objective To describe the IE characteristics. Setting Cardiology Unit Beni Messous Universitary Hospital West Algiers… Material and methods Retrospective study based on hospitalization files, between 1996 and 2008, including patients corresponding to IE diagnosis certain or probable according to Duke criteria. Results 94 patients included, 36.1 + 11.6 years old, with a sex ratio of 1.85. IE occurred on apparently healthy heart, on prosthetic valves and on predisposing cardiac disorders in respectively 10.6%, 17.0% and 72.3% of cases. Among the underlying cardiac disorders, the rheumatics fever valvulopathy occupy the first rank : 45 cases (66.2%). A predisposing extracardiac condition is found in 61 patients (64.9%), most often presumed of dental orign (n = 39). Haemocultures were negative in 48.9% of cases. Positive haemocultures isolated staphylococcus, oral streptococcus and gram negative bacillus in respectively 33.3, 29.2 and 22.9% of cases. Complications occurred in 66 patients (71.3%), the most frequent being cardiac failure (57.6%), kidney failure (33.3%), ischemic cerebral vascular accident (31.8%) and persistant fever (15.1%). Among 84 operatory indications, surgery carried out during hospitalization in only 41 patients (48.8%). Hospital mortality was 38.3%. Hospital mortality factors were cerebral vascular accident (p  Conclusion In this study, the IE epidemiologic profile presents wide differences with the profile reported at the present time in industrialized countries.