Embolic event is a common and important complication of infective endocarditis (IE). The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical impacts of embolic event in patients with IE and the predictors of in-hospital mortality. Data was collected in Pusan National University Hospital and Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital between January 2009 and December 2010. One hundred ten patients were included. Embolic events occur in 39 of 110 patients (35.5%). Brain (n = 18, 38.5%) was the main site of embolic infarction. Patients with embolism showed higher in-hospital mortality (46.2% vs. 8.5%, respectively, P = 0.03), more frequent ICU admission (53.8% vs. 35.2%, respectively, P = 0.045) and more accompanying other cardiac complication (43.6% vs. 21.1%, respectively, P = 0.017). The in-hospital mortality rate was 18.2%. On the logistic regression analysis of the predictors for in-hospital mortality, age (RR, 1.079; 95% CI, 1.036-1.123, P = 0.001), embolic event (RR, 3.510; 95% CI, 1.271-9.69, P = 0.015) and staphylococcal infection (RR, 5.098; 95% CI, 1.308-18.508, P = 0.023) were independently associated with in-hospital mortality. Embolic events in IE are associated with poor in-hospital outcome; and these data about embolic events and the predictors of in-hospital mortality may improve the management of this disease in hospitals.
Keywords: Embolism; Endocarditis; Mortality; Staphylococcus.