[Prosthetic valve endocarditis: about 14 cases].

BACKGROUND

Prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) is a serious complication of valve surgery.

AIM: The aim of this study is to determine the diagnostic and therapeutic management for PVE.

METHODS

It's a retrospective study about 14 cases of PVE operated in the department of cardiovascular surgery of la Rabta hospital between January 1996 and December 2006.

RESULTS

In two cases, surgery was performed emergent, in the remnant cases surgery was elective. The coagulase-negative staphylococcus (CNS) is the predominant cause of these PVE.Surgery consisted on seven mitral prosthesis replacements and seven aortic prosthesis replacements.Hospital mortality was 50%.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion attention should be made to prevent endocarditis when possible. In case of PVE, an early diagnosis a leads to earlier application of appropriate therapies and improved outcome.