Scholars@Duke
Vivian Hou Chu

Vivian Hou Chu

Professor of Medicine
Medicine, Infectious Diseases
vivian.chu@duke.edu
Duke Box 102359, Div of Infectious Diseases, Durham, NC 27710
Room 177 Hanes House, Trent Drive, Durham, NC 27710

Scholarly Works - Journal articles

Patients' Perspectives on Alternative Antibiotic Treatment Strategies for Infective Endocarditis Among Persons Who Inject Drugs.

Journal article J Addict Med · May 2026 OBJECTIVES: Injection drug use is a leading and growing risk factor for infective endocarditis (IE), as evidenced by a marked national increase in hospitalizations for drug use-associated infective endocarditis (DUA-IE). The typical treatment approach for ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

"It Eats My Heart": Identifying Knowledge Gaps in Injection Drug-Related Endocarditis Among Hospitalized Patients.

Journal article Subst Use Addctn J · January 2026 BACKGROUND: Infective endocarditis (IE) rates have risen sharply, spurred by injection drug use (IDU). Public health interventions to prevent infectious complications of IDU have primarily focused on communicable diseases, such as HIV and viral hepatitis. ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Perspectives on syringe services programs among patients hospitalized with injection drug use-associated endocarditis: a qualitative study.

Journal article Ther Adv Infect Dis · 2025 BACKGROUND: Infective endocarditis (IE) has increased markedly among people who inject drugs (PWID). Harm reduction is a tool to help PWID improve health outcomes and mitigate IE. OBJECTIVES: To understand the knowledge, perceptions, past engagement, and p ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Cardiovascular Implantable Electronic Device Infections: A Contemporary Review.

Journal article Infect Dis Clin North Am · December 2024 Infections associated with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) are increasing and are a cause of significant morbidity and mortality. This article summarizes the latest updates with respect to the epidemiology, microbiology, and risk factors for ... Full text Link to item Cite

Long-term Risk of Serious Infections and Mortality Among Patients Surviving Drug Use-Associated Infective Endocarditis.

Journal article Clin Infect Dis · July 19, 2024 Among a statewide cohort of 1874 patients surviving hospitalization for drug use-associated endocarditis during 2017-2020, the 3-year risk of death or future hospitalization was 38% (16% for death before later infection, 14% for recurrent endocarditis, 14% ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

18F-FDG PET/CT and Radiolabeled Leukocyte SPECT/CT Imaging for the Evaluation of Cardiovascular Infection in the Multimodality Context: ASNC Imaging Indications (ASNC I2) Series Expert Consensus Recommendations From ASNC, AATS, ACC, AHA, ASE, EANM, HRS, IDSA, SCCT, SNMMI, and STS.

Journal article JACC Cardiovasc Imaging · June 2024 This document on cardiovascular infection, including infective endocarditis, is the first in the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology Imaging Indications (ASNC I2) series to assess the role of radionuclide imaging in the multimodality context for the eva ... Full text Link to item Cite

18F-FDG PET/CT and radiolabeled leukocyte SPECT/CT imaging for the evaluation of cardiovascular infection in the multimodality context: ASNC Imaging Indications (ASNC I2) Series Expert Consensus Recommendations from ASNC, AATS, ACC, AHA, ASE, EANM, HRS, IDSA, SCCT, SNMMI, and STS.

Journal article Heart Rhythm · May 2024 This document on cardiovascular infection, including infective endocarditis, is the first in the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology Imaging Indications (ASNC I2) series to assess the role of radionuclide imaging in the multimodality context for the eva ... Full text Link to item Cite

18F-FDG PET/CT and radiolabeled leukocyte SPECT/CT imaging for the evaluation of cardiovascular infection in the multimodality context: ASNC Imaging Indications (ASNC I2) Series Expert Consensus Recommendations from ASNC, AATS, ACC, AHA, ASE, EANM, HRS, IDSA, SCCT, SNMMI, and STS.

Journal article J Nucl Cardiol · April 2024 This document on cardiovascular infection, including infective endocarditis, is the first in the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology Imaging Indications (ASNC I2) series to assess the role of radionuclide imaging in the multimodality context for the eva ... Full text Link to item Cite

18F-FDG PET/CT and radiolabeled leukocyte SPECT/CT imaging for the evaluation of cardiovascular infection in the multimodality context: ASNC Imaging Indications (ASNC I2) Series Expert Consensus Recommendations from ASNC, AATS, ACC, AHA, ASE, EANM, HRS, IDSA, SCCT, SNMMI, and STS.

Journal article Clin Infect Dis · March 11, 2024 This document on cardiovascular infection, including infective endocarditis, is the first in the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology Imaging Indications (ASNC I2) series to assess the role of radionuclide imaging in the multimodality context for the eva ... Full text Link to item Cite

Infective Endocarditis After Transcatheter Versus Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement.

Journal article Clin Infect Dis · January 25, 2024 BACKGROUND: Scarce data are available comparing infective endocarditis (IE) following surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). This study aimed to compare the clinical presentation, microbiological profile ... Full text Link to item Cite

Update on Cardiovascular Implantable Electronic Device Infections and Their Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association: Endorsed by the International Society for Cardiovascular Infectious Diseases.

Journal article Circulation · January 9, 2024 The American Heart Association sponsored the first iteration of a scientific statement that addressed all aspects of cardiovascular implantable electronic device infection in 2010. Major advances in the prevention, diagnosis, and management of these infect ... Full text Link to item Cite

Correction: Epidemiological Changes and Improvement in Outcomes of Infective Endocarditis in Europe in the Twenty-First Century: An International Collaboration on Endocarditis (ICE) Prospective Cohort Study (2000–2012) (Infectious Diseases and Therapy, (2023), 12, 4, (1083-1101), 10.1007/s40121-023-00763-8)

Journal article Infectious Diseases and Therapy · December 1, 2023 In the original publication of the article, there was an error with the map presented in Fig. 1 and the Graphical Abstract. The correct version of Fig. 1 and the Graphical Abstract are given below. The original article has also been updated. (Figure presen ... Full text Cite

Oral hygiene and infective endocarditis: a case control study.

Journal article Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol · September 2023 OBJECTIVE: To determine if oral hygiene is associated with infective endocarditis (IE) among those at moderate risk for IE. STUDY DESIGN: This is a case control study of oral hygiene among hospitalized patients with IE (cases) and outpatients with heart va ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Impact of Discharge Against Medical Advice on Readmission After Opioid Use Disorder-Associated Infective Endocarditis: a National Cohort Study.

Journal article J Gen Intern Med · May 2023 BACKGROUND: Hospitalizations for infective endocarditis (IE) associated with opioid use disorder (O-IE) have increased in the USA and have been linked to high rates of discharge against medical advice (DAMA). DAMA represents a truncation of care for a seve ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Epidemiological Changes and Improvement in Outcomes of Infective Endocarditis in Europe in the Twenty-First Century: An International Collaboration on Endocarditis (ICE) Prospective Cohort Study (2000–2012)

Journal article Infectious Diseases and Therapy · April 1, 2023 Introduction: Infective endocarditis (IE) has undergone important changes in its epidemiology worldwide. Methods: The study aimed to compare IE epidemiological features and outcomes according to predefined European regions and between two different time pe ... Full text Cite

Clinical characteristics and outcome of infective endocarditis due to Abiotrophia and Granulicatella compared to Viridans group streptococci.

Journal article J Infect · August 2022 OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical characteristics and outcome of Abiotrophia and Granulicatella infective endocarditis and compare them with Viridans group streptococci infective endocarditis. METHODS: All patients in the International Collaboration on E ... Full text Link to item Cite

A high-sensitivity method for identifying a rare subpopulation of patients with infective endocarditis for a prospective case-control study.

Journal article JADA Found Sci · 2022 BACKGROUND: Infective endocarditis (IE) is an uncommon disease, but it is associated with high morbidity and mortality. The low incidence and varied clinical presentation make identification of these patients recently admitted to hospitals particularly cha ... Full text Link to item Cite

Infective Endocarditis in Patients on Chronic Hemodialysis.

Journal article J Am Coll Cardiol · April 6, 2021 BACKGROUND: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a common and serious complication in patients receiving chronic hemodialysis (HD). OBJECTIVES: This study sought to investigate whether there are significant differences in complications, cardiac surgery, relapses ... Full text Link to item Cite

Prospective Cohort Study of Infective Endocarditis in People Who Inject Drugs.

Journal article J Am Coll Cardiol · February 9, 2021 BACKGROUND: Infective endocarditis (IE) in people who inject drugs (PWID) is an emergent public health problem. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate IE in PWID and compare it with IE in non-PWID patients. METHODS: Two prospective cohort ... Full text Link to item Cite

Beta-Hemolytic Streptococcal Infective Endocarditis: Characteristics and Outcomes From a Large, Multinational Cohort.

Journal article Open Forum Infect Dis · May 2020 BACKGROUND: Beta-hemolytic streptococci (BHS) are an uncommon cause of infective endocarditis (IE). The aim of this study was to describe the clinical features and outcomes of patients with BHS IE in a large multinational cohort and compare them with patie ... Full text Link to item Cite

International Society of Cardiovascular Infectious Diseases Guidelines for the Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Disseminated Mycobacterium chimaera Infection Following Cardiac Surgery with Cardiopulmonary Bypass.

Journal article J Hosp Infect · February 2020 Mycobacterial infection-related morbidity and mortality in patients following cardiopulmonary bypass surgery is high and there is a growing need for a consensus-based expert opinion to provide international guidance for diagnosing, preventing and treating ... Full text Link to item Cite

Comparative safety profile of chloral hydrate versus other sedatives for procedural sedation in hospitalized infants.

Journal article J Neonatal Perinatal Med · 2020 BACKGROUND: Given the limited available evidence on chloral hydrate safety in neonatal populations and the discrepancy in chloral hydrate acceptance between the US and other countries, we sought to clarify the safety profile of chloral hydrate compared to ... Full text Link to item Cite

Epidemiology of infection in mechanical circulatory support: A global analysis from the ISHLT Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support Registry.

Journal article J Heart Lung Transplant · April 2019 BACKGROUND: Despite advances in device technology and treatment strategies, infection remains a major cause of adverse events (AEs) in mechanical circulatory support (MCS) patients. To characterize the epidemiology of MCS infection, we examined the type, l ... Full text Link to item Cite

Association between the timing of surgery for complicated, left-sided infective endocarditis and survival.

Journal article Am Heart J · April 2019 BACKGROUND: In patients with active infective endocarditis (IE), the relationship between timing of surgery and survival is uncertain. The objective was to evaluate clinical characteristics associated with timing of surgery and the association between surg ... Full text Link to item Cite

Trends in Drug Use-Associated Infective Endocarditis and Heart Valve Surgery, 2007 to 2017: A Study of Statewide Discharge Data.

Journal article Ann Intern Med · January 1, 2019 BACKGROUND: Drug use-associated infective endocarditis (DUA-IE) is increasing as a result of the opioid epidemic. Infective endocarditis may require valve surgery, but surgical treatment of DUA-IE has invoked controversy, and the extent of its use is unkno ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Cardiovascular Implantable Electronic Device Infections.

Journal article Infect Dis Clin North Am · December 2018 Infections associated with cardiac implantable electronic devices are increasing and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. This article reviews the epidemiology, microbiology, and risk factors for acquisition of these infections. The com ... Full text Link to item Cite

Device-Associated Infections.

Journal article Infect Dis Clin North Am · December 2018 Full text Link to item Cite

Antibiotic Prophylaxis and Incidence of Endocarditis Before and After the 2007 AHA Recommendations.

Journal article J Am Coll Cardiol · November 13, 2018 BACKGROUND: The American Heart Association updated its recommendations for antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) to prevent infective endocarditis (IE) in 2007, advising that AP cease for those at moderate risk of IE, but continue for those at high risk. OBJECTIVES: ... Full text Link to item Cite

Effect of Algorithm-Based Therapy vs Usual Care on Clinical Success and Serious Adverse Events in Patients with Staphylococcal Bacteremia: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Journal article JAMA · September 25, 2018 IMPORTANCE: The appropriate duration of antibiotics for staphylococcal bacteremia is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To test whether an algorithm that defines treatment duration for staphylococcal bacteremia vs standard of care provides noninferior efficacy without in ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Bloodstream infections in mechanical circulatory support device recipients in the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation Mechanically Assisted Circulation Support Registry: Epidemiology, risk factors, and mortality.

Journal article J Heart Lung Transplant · August 2018 BACKGROUND: We used multicenter international data from the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation Mechanically Assisted Circulation Support (IMACS) registry to determine bloodstream infection (BSI) event rate, independent risk factors, an ... Full text Link to item Cite

Management Considerations in Infective Endocarditis: A Review.

Journal article JAMA · July 3, 2018 IMPORTANCE: Infective endocarditis occurs in approximately 15 of 100 000 people in the United States and has increased in incidence. Clinicians must make treatment decisions with respect to prophylaxis, surgical management, specific antibiotics, and the le ... Full text Link to item Cite

Endocarditis.

Journal article JAMA · July 3, 2018 Full text Link to item Cite

Influence of vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentration on the outcome of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus left-sided infective endocarditis treated with antistaphylococcal β-lactam antibiotics: a prospective cohort study by the International Collaboration on Endocarditis.

Journal article Clin Microbiol Infect · August 2017 OBJECTIVES: Left-sided methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) endocarditis treated with cloxacillin has a poorer prognosis when the vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) is ≥1.5 mg/L. We aimed to validate this using the Internatio ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Antistaphylococcal β-Lactams versus Vancomycin for Treatment of Infective Endocarditis Due to Methicillin-Susceptible Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci: a Prospective Cohort Study from the International Collaboration on Endocarditis.

Journal article Antimicrob Agents Chemother · October 2016 The phenotypic expression of methicillin resistance among coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) is heterogeneous regardless of the presence of the mecA gene. The potential discordance between phenotypic and genotypic results has led to the use of vancomy ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Safety of histamine-2 receptor blockers in hospitalized VLBW infants.

Journal article Early Hum Dev · August 2016 BACKGROUND: Histamine-2 receptor (H2) blockers are often used in very low birth weight infants despite lack of population specific efficacy and safety data. AIMS: We sought to describe safety and temporal trends in histamine-2 receptor (H2) blocker use in ... Full text Link to item Cite

Intravenous amoxicillin/clavulanate for the prevention of bacteraemia following dental procedures: a randomized clinical trial.

Journal article J Antimicrob Chemother · July 2016 OBJECTIVES: Although controversy exists regarding the efficacy of antibiotic prophylaxis for patients at risk of infective endocarditis, expert committees continue to publish recommendations for antibiotic prophylaxis regimens. This study aimed to evaluate ... Full text Link to item Cite

Validated Risk Score for Predicting 6-Month Mortality in Infective Endocarditis.

Journal article J Am Heart Assoc · April 18, 2016 BACKGROUND: Host factors and complications have been associated with higher mortality in infective endocarditis (IE). We sought to develop and validate a model of clinical characteristics to predict 6-month mortality in IE. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using a lar ... Full text Link to item Cite

Enteral Feeding with Human Milk Decreases Time to Discharge in Infants following Gastroschisis Repair.

Journal article J Pediatr · March 2016 OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of enteral feeding with human milk on the time from initiation of feeds to discharge after gastroschisis repair through review of a multi-institutional database. STUDY DESIGN: Infants who underwent gastroschisis repair betwe ... Full text Link to item Cite

Potential Cost-effectiveness of Early Identification of Hospital-acquired Infection in Critically Ill Patients.

Journal article Ann Am Thorac Soc · March 2016 RATIONALE: Limitations in methods for the rapid diagnosis of hospital-acquired infections often delay initiation of effective antimicrobial therapy. New diagnostic approaches offer potential clinical and cost-related improvements in the management of these ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Increased in vitro phenol-soluble modulin production is associated with soft tissue infection source in clinical isolates of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus.

Journal article J Infect · March 2016 BACKGROUND: Phenol-soluble modulins (PSM) are amphipathic proteins produced by Staphylococcus aureus that promote virulence, inflammatory response, and biofilm formation. We previously showed that MRSA isolates from soft tissue infection (SSTI) produced si ... Full text Link to item Cite

Use and Safety of Erythromycin and Metoclopramide in Hospitalized Infants.

Journal article J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr · September 2015 OBJECTIVE: Prokinetic medications are used in premature infants to promote motility and decrease time to full enteral feeding. Erythromycin and metoclopramide are the most commonly used prokinetic medications in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), but ... Full text Link to item Cite

Cefepime and Ceftazidime Safety in Hospitalized Infants.

Journal article Pediatr Infect Dis J · September 2015 BACKGROUND: Cefepime and ceftazidime are cephalosporins used for the treatment of serious Gram-negative infections. These cephalosporins are used off-label in the setting of minimal safety data for young infants. METHODS: We identified all infants discharg ... Full text Link to item Cite

Echocardiographic Findings Predict In-Hospital and 1-Year Mortality in Left-Sided Native Valve Staphylococcus aureus Endocarditis: Analysis From the International Collaboration on Endocarditis-Prospective Echo Cohort Study.

Journal article Circ Cardiovasc Imaging · July 2015 BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus left-sided native valve infective endocarditis (LNVIE) has higher complication and mortality rates compared with endocarditis from other pathogens. Whether echocardiographic variables can predict prognosis in S aureus LNVI ... Full text Link to item Cite

Rifampin use and safety in hospitalized infants.

Journal article Am J Perinatol · May 2015 OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the use and safety of rifampin in the hospitalized infants. STUDY DESIGN: Observational study of clinical and laboratory adverse events among infants exposed to rifampin from 348 neonatal intensive care units managed b ... Full text Link to item Cite

Candida infective endocarditis: an observational cohort study with a focus on therapy.

Journal article Antimicrob Agents Chemother · April 2015 Candida infective endocarditis is a rare disease with a high mortality rate. Our understanding of this infection is derived from case series, case reports, and small prospective cohorts. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical features and u ... Full text Link to item Cite

Impact of early valve surgery on outcome of Staphylococcus aureus prosthetic valve infective endocarditis: analysis in the International Collaboration of Endocarditis-Prospective Cohort Study.

Journal article Clin Infect Dis · March 1, 2015 BACKGROUND: The impact of early valve surgery (EVS) on the outcome of Staphylococcus aureus (SA) prosthetic valve infective endocarditis (PVIE) is unresolved. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between EVS, performed within the fir ... Full text Link to item Cite

One-year outcome following biological or mechanical valve replacement for infective endocarditis.

Journal article Int J Cardiol · January 15, 2015 BACKGROUND: Nearly half of patients require cardiac surgery during the acute phase of infective endocarditis (IE). We describe the characteristics of patients according to the type of valve replacement (mechanical or biological), and examine whether the ty ... Full text Link to item Cite

Association between surgical indications, operative risk, and clinical outcome in infective endocarditis: a prospective study from the International Collaboration on Endocarditis.

Journal article Circulation · January 13, 2015 BACKGROUND: Use of surgery for the treatment of infective endocarditis (IE) as related to surgical indications and operative risk for mortality has not been well defined. METHODS AND RESULTS: The International Collaboration on Endocarditis-PLUS (ICE-PLUS) ... Full text Link to item Cite

Repeat endocarditis: analysis of risk factors based on the International Collaboration on Endocarditis - Prospective Cohort Study.

Journal article Clin Microbiol Infect · June 2014 Repeat episodes of infective endocarditis (IE) can occur in patients who survive an initial episode. We analysed risk factors and 1-year mortality of patients with repeat IE. We considered 1874 patients enrolled in the International Collaboration on Endoca ... Full text Link to item Cite

Global and regional burden of infective endocarditis, 1990-2010: a systematic review of the literature.

Journal article Glob Heart · March 2014 Infective endocarditis (IE) is a life-threatening disease associated with serious complications. The GBD 2010 (Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors) study IE expert group conducted a systematic review of IE epidemiology literature to inform ... Full text Link to item Cite

High-dose daptomycin therapy for left-sided infective endocarditis: a prospective study from the international collaboration on endocarditis.

Journal article Antimicrob Agents Chemother · December 2013 The use of daptomycin in Gram-positive left-sided infective endocarditis (IE) has significantly increased. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of high-dose daptomycin on the outcome of left-sided IE due to Gram-positive pathogens. This wa ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Enterococcal endocarditis in the beginning of the 21st century: analysis from the International Collaboration on Endocarditis-Prospective Cohort Study.

Journal article Clin Microbiol Infect · December 2013 Enterococci are reportedly the third most common group of endocarditis-causing pathogens but data on enterococcal infective endocarditis (IE) are limited. The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics and prognostic factors of enterococcal IE wi ... Full text Link to item Cite

In-hospital and 1-year mortality in patients undergoing early surgery for prosthetic valve endocarditis.

Journal article JAMA Intern Med · September 9, 2013 IMPORTANCE: There are limited prospective, controlled data evaluating survival in patients receiving early surgery vs medical therapy for prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE). OBJECTIVE: To determine the in-hospital and 1-year mortality in patients with PVE ... Full text Link to item Cite

Reply to Tleyjeh and Baddour.

Journal article Clin Infect Dis · June 2013 Full text Link to item Cite

Influence of the timing of cardiac surgery on the outcome of patients with infective endocarditis and stroke.

Journal article Clin Infect Dis · January 2013 BACKGROUND: The timing of cardiac surgery after stroke in infective endocarditis (IE) remains controversial. We examined the relationship between the timing of surgery after stroke and the incidence of in-hospital and 1-year mortalities. METHODS: Data were ... Full text Link to item Cite

HACEK infective endocarditis: characteristics and outcomes from a large, multi-national cohort.

Journal article PLoS One · 2013 The HACEK organisms (Haemophilus species, Aggregatibacter species, Cardiobacterium hominis, Eikenella corrodens, and Kingella species) are rare causes of infective endocarditis (IE). The objective of this study is to describe the clinical characteristics a ... Full text Link to item Cite

Clinical characteristics and outcome of infective endocarditis involving implantable cardiac devices.

Journal article JAMA · April 25, 2012 CONTEXT: Infection of implantable cardiac devices is an emerging disease with significant morbidity, mortality, and health care costs. OBJECTIVES: To describe the clinical characteristics and outcome of cardiac device infective endocarditis (CDIE) with att ... Full text Link to item Cite

Association between valvular surgery and mortality among patients with infective endocarditis complicated by heart failure.

Journal article JAMA · November 23, 2011 CONTEXT: Heart failure (HF) is the most common complication of infective endocarditis. However, clinical characteristics of HF in patients with infective endocarditis, use of surgical therapy, and their associations with patient outcome are not well descri ... Full text Link to item Cite

Ertapenem for treatment of osteomyelitis: a case series.

Journal article BMC Res Notes · November 2, 2011 BACKGROUND: Ertapenem is a once-daily broad spectrum carbapenem that is increasingly used to treat polymicrobial osteomyelitis due to diabetic foot and traumatic wound infections. However, limited data exists on ertapenem use for osteomyelitis. This study ... Full text Link to item Cite

Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis isolates are associated with clonal complex 30 genotype and a distinct repertoire of enterotoxins and adhesins.

Journal article J Infect Dis · September 1, 2011 BACKGROUND: Using multinational collections of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) isolates from infective endocarditis (IE) and soft tissue infections (STIs), we sought to (1) validate the finding that S. aureus in clonal complex (CC) 30 ... Full text Link to item Cite

Impact of the NICE guideline recommending cessation of antibiotic prophylaxis for prevention of infective endocarditis: before and after study.

Journal article BMJ · May 3, 2011 OBJECTIVE: To quantify the change in prescribing of antibiotic prophylaxis before invasive dental procedures for patients at risk of infective endocarditis, and any concurrent change in the incidence of infective endocarditis, following introduction of a c ... Full text Link to item Cite

Analysis of the impact of early surgery on in-hospital mortality of native valve endocarditis: use of propensity score and instrumental variable methods to adjust for treatment-selection bias.

Journal article Circulation · March 2, 2010 BACKGROUND: The impact of early surgery on mortality in patients with native valve endocarditis (NVE) is unresolved. This study sought to evaluate valve surgery compared with medical therapy for NVE and to identify characteristics of patients who are most ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Reduced valve replacement surgery and complication rate in Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis patients receiving acetyl-salicylic acid.

Journal article J Infect · May 2009 OBJECTIVES: To assess the influence of acetyl-salicylic acid (ASA) on clinical outcomes in Staphylococcus aureus infective endocarditis (SA-IE). METHODS: The International Collaboration on Endocarditis - Prospective Cohort Study database was used in this o ... Full text Link to item Cite

Coagulase-negative staphylococcal prosthetic valve endocarditis--a contemporary update based on the International Collaboration on Endocarditis: prospective cohort study.

Journal article Heart · April 2009 OBJECTIVE: To describe the contemporary features of coagulase-negative staphylococcal (CoNS) prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE). DESIGN: Observational study of prospectively collected data from a multinational cohort of patients with infective endocarditi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Living arrangement and coronary heart disease: the JPHC study.

Journal article Heart · April 2009 BACKGROUND: Previous studies have suggested that living in a multi-generational household (a type of family structure prevalent in Japan) confers mixed health benefits and stresses, especially for women who report such living arrangements. OBJECTIVE: To ex ... Full text Link to item Cite

Clinical presentation, etiology, and outcome of infective endocarditis in the 21st century: the International Collaboration on Endocarditis-Prospective Cohort Study.

Journal article Arch Intern Med · March 9, 2009 BACKGROUND: We sought to provide a contemporary picture of the presentation, etiology, and outcome of infective endocarditis (IE) in a large patient cohort from multiple locations worldwide. METHODS: Prospective cohort study of 2781 adults with definite IE ... Full text Link to item Cite

Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia among patients with health care-associated fever.

Journal article Am J Med · March 2009 BACKGROUND: Although Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia is a common, serious infection, accurately identifying febrile patients with this diagnosis at the time of initial evaluation is difficult. The purpose of this investigation was to define clinical chara ... Full text Link to item Cite

Analysis of the genotype and virulence of Staphylococcus epidermidis isolates from patients with infective endocarditis.

Journal article Infect Immun · November 2008 Staphylococcus epidermidis is one of the most common causes of infections of prosthetic heart valves (prosthetic valve endocarditis [PVE]) and an increasingly common cause of infections of native heart valves (native valve endocarditis [NVE]). While S. epi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Associations between the genotypes of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream isolates and clinical characteristics and outcomes of bacteremic patients.

Journal article J Clin Microbiol · September 2008 We investigated associations between the genotypic and phenotypic features of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream isolates and the clinical characteristics of bacteremic patients enrolled in a phase III trial of S. aureus bacteremia and endocarditis. Isolate ... Full text Link to item Cite

Candida infective endocarditis.

Journal article Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis · July 2008 Candida infective endocarditis (IE) is uncommon but often fatal. Most epidemiologic data are derived from small case series or case reports. This study was conducted to explore the epidemiology, treatment patterns, and outcomes of patients with Candida IE. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Genotypic diversity of coagulase-negative staphylococci causing endocarditis: a global perspective.

Journal article J Clin Microbiol · May 2008 Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) are important causes of infective endocarditis (IE), but their microbiological profiles are poorly described. We performed DNA target sequencing and susceptibility testing for 91 patients with definite CNS IE who were ... Full text Link to item Cite

Echocardiographic risk stratification for early surgery with endocarditis: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

Journal article Heart · May 2008 BACKGROUND: Despite widespread acceptance of echocardiography for diagnosis of infective endocarditis, few investigators have evaluated its utility as a risk-stratification tool to aid therapeutic decision-making. METHODS: A decision tree and Markov analys ... Full text Link to item Cite

Emergence of coagulase-negative staphylococci as a cause of native valve endocarditis.

Journal article Clin Infect Dis · January 15, 2008 BACKGROUND: Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are an infrequent cause of native valve endocarditis (NVE), and our understanding of NVE caused by CoNS is incomplete. METHOD: The International Collaboration on Endocarditis-Prospective Cohort Study incl ... Full text Link to item Cite

Clinical outcomes and costs among patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia and orthopedic device infections.

Journal article Scand J Infect Dis · 2008 We evaluated costs and outcomes of patients with S. aureus bacteremia and orthopedic device infections (ODI). Patients with ODI had higher relapse of S. aureus infection, compared to bacteremic patients without ODI. Costs and outcomes were similar among OD ... Full text Link to item Cite

Non-HACEK gram-negative bacillus endocarditis.

Journal article Ann Intern Med · December 18, 2007 BACKGROUND: Infective endocarditis caused by non-HACEK (species other than Haemophilus species, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Cardiobacterium hominis, Eikenella corrodens, or Kingella species) gram-negative bacilli is rare, is poorly characterized, ... Full text Link to item Cite

Expression of antimicrobial peptides in the normal and involved skin of patients with infective cellulitis.

Journal article J Infect Dis · November 1, 2007 BACKGROUND: Endogenous antimicrobial peptides participate in the innate defense of skin against a variety of pathogens. The systemic expression of these peptides in normal-appearing skin of patients with infective cellulitis is unknown. METHODS: Study pati ... Full text Link to item Cite

Use of echocardiography in the diagnosis and management of infective endocarditis.

Journal article Curr Infect Dis Rep · July 2007 The first use of echocardiography in infective endocarditis (IE) was described in 1973. Since then, echocardiography has emerged as a major tool for the diagnosis and management of this disease. In general, transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is adequate ... Full text Link to item Cite

Early surgery in patients with infective endocarditis: a propensity score analysis.

Journal article Clin Infect Dis · February 1, 2007 BACKGROUND: An accurate assessment of the predictors of long-term mortality in patients with infective endocarditis is not possible using retrospective data because of inherent treatment biases and predictable imbalances in the distribution of prognostic f ... Full text Link to item Cite

Use of vancomycin or first-generation cephalosporins for the treatment of hemodialysis-dependent patients with methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.

Journal article Clin Infect Dis · January 15, 2007 BACKGROUND: Because of its ease of dosing, vancomycin is commonly used to treat methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) bacteremia in patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis. Clinical outcomes resulting from such a therapeutic strategy have ... Full text Link to item Cite

Prosthetic valve endocarditis due to coagulase-negative staphylococci: findings from the International Collaboration on Endocarditis Merged Database.

Journal article Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis · June 2006 Infective endocarditis due to coagulase-negative staphylococci is increasingly recognized as a difficult-to-treat disease associated with poor outcome. The aim of this report is to describe the characteristics and outcome of patients with prosthetic valve ... Full text Link to item Cite

Telavancin versus standard therapy for treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections caused by gram-positive bacteria: FAST 2 study.

Journal article Antimicrob Agents Chemother · March 2006 Telavancin is a bactericidal lipoglycopeptide with a multifunctional mechanism of action. We conducted a randomized, double blind, active-control phase II trial. Patients > or = 18 years of age with complicated skin and skin structure infections caused by ... Full text Link to item Cite

Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia in patients with prosthetic devices: costs and outcomes.

Journal article Am J Med · December 2005 PURPOSE: Although Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of nosocomial infection, little is known about the impact of S. aureus bacteremia on patients with prosthetic devices. This investigation sought to define the clinical outcome, health care resource ... Full text Link to item Cite

Repeat infective endocarditis: differentiating relapse from reinfection.

Journal article Clin Infect Dis · August 1, 2005 Repeat infective endocarditis due to the same species can represent relapse of the initial infection or a new infection. We used time-based clinical criteria and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis-based molecular criteria to classify 13 cases of repeat infec ... Full text Link to item Cite

Telavancin versus standard therapy for treatment of complicated skin and soft-tissue infections due to gram-positive bacteria.

Journal article Clin Infect Dis · June 1, 2005 BACKGROUND: Telavancin, a novel lipoglycopeptide, exerts concentration-dependent, rapid bactericidal activity on account of its multiple mechanisms of action. Telavancin is highly active against gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staph ... Full text Link to item Cite

Risk of endocarditis among patients with prosthetic valves and Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.

Journal article Am J Med · March 2005 PURPOSE: Staphylococcus aureus is a common cause of bacteremia and of native valve infective endocarditis. However, the risk of endocarditis in patients with a prosthetic valve who develop S. aureus bacteremia is unclear. The aim of this study was to defin ... Full text Link to item Cite

Native valve endocarditis due to coagulase-negative staphylococci: report of 99 episodes from the International Collaboration on Endocarditis Merged Database.

Journal article Clin Infect Dis · November 15, 2004 Using a large cohort of patients from the International Collaboration on Endocarditis Merged Database, we compared coagulase-negative staphylococcal (CoNS) native-valve endocarditis (NVE) to NVE caused by more common pathogens. Rates of heart failure and m ... Full text Link to item Cite

Issues in the Management of Endocarditis Caused by Resistant Gram-positive Organisms.

Journal article Curr Infect Dis Rep · August 2004 Most cases of infective endocarditis (IE) are caused by gram-positive bacteria such as enterococci, streptococci, and staphylococci. Increasing resistance among these organisms has eroded the utility of mainstay antibiotics and complicated the management o ... Full text Link to item Cite

Early predictors of in-hospital death in infective endocarditis.

Journal article Circulation · April 13, 2004 BACKGROUND: Data on early determinants of outcome in infective endocarditis (IE) are limited. We evaluated the prognostic significance of early clinical characteristics in a large, prospective cohort of patients with IE. METHODS AND RESULTS: Two hundred si ... Full text Link to item Cite

Increasing rates of cardiac device infections among Medicare beneficiaries: 1990-1999.

Journal article Am Heart J · April 2004 BACKGROUND: Although cardiac devices have been found to reduce symptoms and mortality rates in appropriate patient populations, the implications of certain important risks, such as infection, are incompletely understood. The purpose of this study was to us ... Full text Link to item Cite