Temporal association of infective endocarditis and dental procedures – A survey-based investigation from the dentists' perspective
Survey-based study that aims to evaluate the temporal relationship between dental procedures and infective endocarditis (IE), assess the frequency of patients at elevated risk for IE that dentists encounter in their daily practice, the antibiotic prophylactic management of those patients, the incidence of IE following dental procedures based on the dentists experience, and analyse the impact the antibiotic prophylaxis in patients at lower or unknown risk for IE.
Dentists registered in the dental associations will be contacted to answer the survey. Statistical evaluation will be conducted using descriptive statistics.
Participative Decision-Making in Cardiac Surgery and Cardiology – What Influences Patient Preferences?
Background: In cardiac surgery and cardiology, various surgical and interventional options are available to treat heart diseases. Before the intervention, doctors discuss with the affected patients to determine which type of intervention (surgery or catheter-based intervention) is more suitable for the individual case. Often, short-term effects (e.g., the prospect of a quick recovery) and long-term effects (e.g., the prolonged functionality of a prosthetic heart valve) need to be weighed against each other. In this process, doctors often find that patients struggle with making these kinds of decisions.
Research question: What patient characteristics and features of the information conveyed during the informed consent influence patient preferences? These questions will be investigated in a collaboration of the Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy of the University of Leipzig and the University Department for Cardiac Surgery at the Leipzig Heart Center, using a sample of patients with heart valve disease, who will answer a specially designed survey to this end.
Cardiac surgery in patients with infective endocarditis and preoperative septembolic stroke
Retrospective, single-center analysis of patients with infective endocarditis and preoperative septembolic stroke. The incidence of conversion to cerebral hemorrhage is analyzed based on the comparison of pre- and postoperative CT images and stratified according to the timing of cardiac surgery after ischemic stroke (i.e., early vs. delayed surgery). Furthermore, in-hospital mortality and early neurological sequelae are assessed.
Lifetime management of aortic stenosis in patients with cancer
This study retrospectively analyzes the outcomes of patients wit cancer who underwent surgical or transcatheter aortic valve replacement to shed some light on lifetime-management considerations for the Heart Team discussion and the multidisciplinary treatment of patients with aortic stenosis.
Cardiac impLantable Electronic device extrAction in patients with left-sideD infective endocarditis (LEAD) trial
Recommendations to extract cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) in patients with left-sided infective endocarditis and non-infected CIEDs are based on expert opinion and limited evidence. This randomized, controlled, open-label, parallel arm, multi-center, superiority trial compares early unselected CIED extraction vs a conservative approach without immediate CIED extraction (delayed selected CIED extraction) in patients with left-sided infective endocarditis and non-infected CIED. The primary study outcome is treatment failure within 1 year, defined as a combined endpoint of all-cause death, recurrent IE (including CIED infection), shock, and major complications associated with CIED removal or re-implantation.
Early extraction versus conservative management in patients with non-infected cardiac implantable electronic devices undergoing cardiac surgery for left-sided infective endocarditis: outcomes from a high-volume heart valve center
This study aims to comparatively analyze the outcomes of patients with left-sided infective endocarditis (IE) and non-infected cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) who underwent cardiac surgery with or without CIED extraction. It is a retrospective single-center study that included all patients with left-sided IE and non-infected CIED who underwent cardiac surgery between 2002 and 2023 at the Leipzig Heart Center. The cohort is divided in two groups for statistical comparison according to the extraction or non-extraction of the CIED. Primary outcomes are 30-day mortality, 6-month survival, and recurrent IE . The secondary outcome is the length of stay in the intensive care unit.
Early and mid-term outcomes following mitral valve replacement in elderly patients
Limited evidence is available about the safety and outcomes following surgical mitral valve replacement (MVR) in elderly patients. It is unknown if MVR in elderly patients improves life expectancy. Hence, elderly patients are frequently referred for non-surgical mitral valve therapies only based on their age. The aim of this study is to analyze the outcomes following MVR in elderly patients. It is a retrospective, single-center study involving patients ≥70 years undergoing MVR from 2005 to 2019 at the Leipzig Heart Center. The primary study outcomes are in-hospital mortality and mid-term survival. Mid-term survival is compared to the life expectancy of the same-age general German population.
Preoperative Intestinal Preconditioning to Prevent Postoperative Vasoplegia Following Tricuspid Valve Surgery
Retrospective single-center analysis including patients who underwent tricuspid valve surgery from 2017 to 2021. The outcomes of patients who received preoperative intestinal preconditioning are compared to those who did not. Primary outcomes are in-hospital mortality and the occurrence of postoperative vasoplegia. Secondary outcomes are intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital length of stay (LOS).