ObjectiveTo systematically review the short term and long term efficacy of early surgery for infective endocarditis (IE) patients. MethodsWe searched PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CBM, WanFang Data and CNKI databases for cohort studies concerning the efficacy of early surgery for IE patients from inception to October 2014. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk bias of included studies. Then meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 software. ResultsSixteen cohort studies including 8 141 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that early surgery could reduce the short term mortality (OR=0.57, 95%CI 0.42 to 0.77, P=0.000 4) and long term mortality (OR=0.57, 95%CI 0.43 to 0.77, P=0.000 7) in IE patients. Subgroup analysis showed that early surgery could significantly reduce the short term mortality and long term mortality in patients with native valve endocarditis (NVE). ConclusionEarly surgery can reduce IE patients' short term mortality and long term mortality. Due to the limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more large-scale high-quality studies are needed to verify the above conclusion.
Abstract： Objective To evaluate early clinical outcomes and short-term follow-up results of CL-V bileaflet prosthesis. Methods From April 2004 to May 2010， 38 patients with valvular heart diseases underwent mechanical heart valve replacement. Eighteen patients received CL-V bileaflet valve replacement （CL group） including 8 males and 10 females with their mean age of （47.4±6.2）years and mean body weight of （64.7±11.9） kg. Preoperatively，15 patients were in New York Heart Association （NYHA） classⅢ， and 2 patients were in NYHA classⅣ. Mitral valve replacement （MVR） was performed in 16 patients， mitral and aortic valve replacement（DVR） in 2 patients. A total of 20 CL-V bileaflet prostheses were implanted. Twenty patients received St. Jude bileaflet valve replacement （SJM group）including 9 males and 11 females with their mean age of （49.7±7.6） years and mean body weight of （66.1±11.1） kg. Preoperatively， 15 patients were in NYHA classⅢ， and 3 patients were in NYHA classⅣ. MVR was performed in 17 patients，aortic valve replacement （AVR） in 1 patient， and DVR in 2 patients. A total of 22 St. Jude bileaflet prostheses were implanted. Clinical outcomes， hear function， hemodynamics and blood compatibility were measured on the 7th postoperative day and 6 months during follow-up and compared between the two groups. Results There was no early mortality （＜30 d） or postoperative complication in either group. Follow-up rate was 100% and the mean follow-up duration was 19.8 （6-61）months. At 6 months after surgery， those patients who were preoperatively in NYHA classⅢ orⅣall improved to classⅠ orⅡ. In CL group， cardiothoracic ratio was 0.51±0.05， left atrium diameter （44.5±7.8） mm， left ventricular end diastolic diameter （LVEDD，46.6±4.1） mm， LVEF 65.3%±7.7%，and LVFS 35.0%±7.1%. In SJM group， cardiothoracic ratio was 0.51±0.06， left atrium diameter （45.8±9.6） mm， LVEDD （46.2±9.8） mm， LVEF 64.1%±9.0%，and LVFS 34.9%±4.7%， which were not statistically different from those parameters of CL group respectively （P＞0.05）. At 6 months after surgery， transthoracic echocardiography was used to compare hemodynamics of bileaflet prostheses with same size 27 mm in the two groups. Prosthetic transvalvular gradient was （5.1±0.9）mm Hg in CL group and （5.8±0.8） mm Hg in SJM group， and effective orifice area was （2.3±0.3）cm2 in CL group and（2.5±0.2）cm2 in SJM group，which were not statistically significant between the two groups （P＞0.05） respectively. In both groups， the level ofhemoglobin， lactate dehydrogenase and platelet at 6 months postoperatively were all within normal range and not statistically from those respective preoperative parameters（P＞0.05）. Hemolytic reaction and hemolytic anemia were not found. During early and short-term follow-up， there was no thromboembolic complications or anticoagulation-related severe bleeding events in the two groups with same anticoagulation intensity target （target INR value 1.5 to 2.5）. Conclusion Early clinical outcomes and short-term follow-up results of CL-V bileaflet prostheses are similar to those of St. Jude bileaflet prostheses. Postoperative patients have good clinical outcomes， hemodynamics and blood compatibility. Patients’ heart function significantly improve during short-term follow-up without valve-related complication. Mid-term and Long-term follow-up are further needed to demonstrate its good performance.