Tricuspid Valve Surgery in Patients with Isolated Tricuspid Valve Endocarditis: Analysis of Perioperative Parameters and Long-Term Outcomes.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the perioperative characteristics and the short- and mid-term outcomes in patients undergoing tricuspid valve (TV) surgery for isolated TV endocarditis.  A total of 56 patients with isolated TV endocarditis underwent TV surgery at a single center between June 1995 and February 2012. Mean age of patients was 53.8 ± 17.1 years, 39 (69.6%) being male. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 60.4 ± 13.6% and 13 (23.2%) patients had diabetes mellitus. Average logistic EuroSCORE was 19.4 ± 17.0%. Mean follow-up was 4.7 ± 3.8 years.  Microbiological investigations revealed positive blood cultures in 89.1% of patients and positive intraoperative swabs in 51.9%. The most common pathogen (42.9%) isolated was , followed by coagulase-negative staphylococcus (17.9%).  A history of intravenous drug abuse (IVDA) was recorded in 11 patients (19.6%), of which 8 patients additionally had hepatitis C. A total of 15 patients (26.8%) had a permanent pacemaker/implantable cardioverter-defibrillator in situ. TV replacement was performed in 22 patients (39.3%) and TV repair was performed in 34 patients (60.7%). Overall 30-day mortality was 12.5%. Five-year survival was 63.9 ± 7.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 64.0-137.5 months). Freedom from reoperation for recurrent TV endocarditis was 91.7 ± 4.0% (95% CI: 152.3-179.3 months) at 5 years.  Blood culture is the most important tool to detect the causative pathogen causing IE of TV. The high risk of hepatitis C in patients with IVDA and IE of the TV should be mentioned.