Infective endocarditis incidence up in US from 2000 to 2011

(HealthDay)—From 2000 to 2011 there was an increase in infective endocarditis (IE) incidence in the United States, according to a study published in the May 19 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Sadip Pant, M.D., from the University of Louisville in Kentucky, and colleagues compared temporal trends in IE incidence, microbiology, and outcomes before and after the 2007 IE prophylaxis guidelines. IE hospitalization rates were obtained from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database for 2000 through 2011.

From 2000 to 2011, the researchers identified 457,052 IE-related hospitalizations in the United States, which increased steadily during the study period (P < 0.001). From 2000 to 2007 and from 2008 to 2011 the trend in IE hospitalization rates did not differ significantly (P = 0.74). During the study periods 2000 to 2007 and 2008 to 2011, the increases in the number of Staphylococcus IE cases per million were similar (P = 0.13), while after the release of the new guidelines, Streptococcus IE hospitalization rates were significantly higher (P = 0.002). From 2000 to 2007, valve replacement rates for IE increased steadily (P = 0.03), but they plateaued from 2007 to 2011. No significant difference was seen in the rates of valve replacement for IE before and after guidelines release (P = 0.23).

"The rates of hospitalization and valve surgery for IE have not increased since the change in IE prophylaxis guideline in 2007," the authors write.