Serban Adela Mihaela, Pepine Diana, Inceu Andreea, Dadarlat Alexandra, Achim Alexandru
"Iuliu Hațieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Cardiology Department, Heart Institute Niculae Stăncioiu Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Open Heart. 2025 Jan 31;12(1):e003060. doi: 10.1136/openhrt-2024-003060.
Life-threatening complications of infective endocarditis (IE,) are heart failure, uncontrolled infection and embolic events (EE), which pose significant morbidity and mortality risks. EE from vegetation rupture are frequent, occurring in more than 50% of patients and can lead to ischaemic stroke and systemic organ infarctions, contributing to poor patient outcomes. Early identification and characterisation of embolic risk factors, including vegetation size, mobility and echogenicity assessed through transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography, but also certain pathogens and biomarkers are important for guiding clinical decisions. The latest European Guidelines recommendations emphasise the role of imaging modalities like CT and MRI in detecting silent emboli and guiding therapeutic interventions, including the timely consideration of surgical options to mitigate embolic risks. In this regard, embolic vascular dissemination-including asymptomatic cases detected through multimodality imaging-has been introduced as a new minor criterion for the diagnosis of IE.Depending on the location and severity of the embolism, the embolic risk can either escalate or alternatively, complicate and delay cardiac surgery. The decision to proceed with surgery should not hinge solely on the occurrence of an embolic event, although current guidelines often emphasise this criterion. Therefore, future perspectives should focus on identifying high-risk profiles for EE and investigating whether early surgical intervention benefits these patients, even if they respond favourably to antibiotic therapy. This review explores current literature on echocardiographic and biomarker predictors of EE in IE, aiming to enhance clinical strategies for mitigating embolic complications and improving patient outcomes.
感染性心内膜炎(IE)的危及生命的并发症包括心力衰竭、无法控制的感染和栓塞事件(EE),这些并发症具有很高的发病率和死亡率风险。因赘生物破裂导致的EE很常见,超过50%的患者会发生,并且可导致缺血性中风和全身器官梗死,从而导致患者预后不良。早期识别和确定栓塞危险因素,包括通过经胸和经食管超声心动图评估的赘生物大小、活动度和回声性,以及某些病原体和生物标志物,对于指导临床决策很重要。最新的欧洲指南建议强调CT和MRI等成像方式在检测隐匿性栓子和指导治疗干预方面的作用,包括及时考虑手术选择以降低栓塞风险。在这方面,栓塞性血管播散——包括通过多模态成像检测到的无症状病例——已被引入作为IE诊断的一项新的次要标准。根据栓塞的部位和严重程度,栓塞风险可能会升高,或者使心脏手术复杂化并延迟手术。尽管当前指南经常强调这一标准,但决定是否进行手术不应仅仅取决于栓塞事件的发生。因此,未来的研究方向应聚焦于识别EE的高危特征,并研究早期手术干预是否对这些患者有益,即使他们对抗生素治疗反应良好。本综述探讨了关于IE中EE的超声心动图和生物标志物预测指标的现有文献,旨在加强减轻栓塞并发症和改善患者预后的临床策略。