Infective Endocarditis in Pediatric Patients: A Decade of Insights from a Leading Spanish Heart Surgery Reference Center
Authors: Marín-Cruz Inés , Pedrero-Tomé Roberto , Toral Belén , Flores Marta , Orellana-Miguel María Ángeles , Boni Lorenzo , Belda-Hofheinz Sylvia , Prieto-Tato Luis M. , Fernández-Cooke Elisa , Epalza Cristina , López-Medrano Francisco , Rojo Pablo , Blázquez-Gamero Daniel 
Published: January 2024

Purpose
Infective endocarditis (IE) is a rare disease in children and is associated with significant morbimortality. In recent years, significant changes have occurred in pediatric care that could have influenced the microbiology and presentation of IE. The aim of this work was to study epidemiological, microbiological, and clinical features of IE attended at a Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Reference Center located in Madrid (Spain) in a 10-years’ period.
Methods
A descriptive observational retrospective study was performed, including pediatric patients < 16 years old with definite or possible IE admitted to a reference center between January 2012 and December 2021.
Results
Thirty-two IE episodes were identified. Twenty-eight (87.5%) had congenital heart disease (CHD), 8 (25.0%) were preterm infants, 1 (3.1%) was immunocompromised and 6 (18.8%) had other chronic conditions; in 11 (34.4%) episodes more than one underlying condition was associated. In 20 (62.5%) episodes there was an indwelling central venous catheter (CVC); children with other comorbidities (preterm, immunocompromised, other chronic conditions) were more likely to have a CVC at diagnosis compared with patients with isolated CHD (p < 0.001). Thirty-six microbiological isolates were obtained in the 32 episodes; 4 (12.5%) episodes had 2 isolated microorganisms. Microbiological isolates were 20 (55.6%) Gram-positive bacteria (GPB), 10 (27.8%) non-HACEK Gram-negative bacteria (GNB), 1 (2.8%) HACEK-group bacterium, 4 (11.1%) fungi and 1 (2.8%) Coxiella burnetii. In 10 (31.3%) episodes, patients were colonized by multidrug-resistant bacteria (MDRB) and the etiology of IE in 3 (30.0%) of those episodes was the colonizing MDRB. The most common complication was septic embolism: 11 (34.4%) episodes (9 pulmonary and 2 cerebral). In-hospital mortality was 6.3% (n = 2), all of them due to underlying conditions and not to IE or its complications. Clinical features and complications of IE episodes caused by non-HACEK GNB and those caused by GPB were compared, finding no statistically significant differences.
Conclusions
Risk factors for developing IE, the proportion of embolic complications, and mortality rate were consistent with previously published findings. Proportion of IE cases attributed to non-HACEK GNB was higher than previously reported, suggesting an evolving epidemiology of IE. One-third of children colonized with MDRB subsequently developed IE caused by the same MDRB strains, so empirical coverage of MDRB organisms must be considered when IE is suspected in MDRB colonized patients. No significant differences in clinical features and complications were observed when comparing IE episodes caused by non-HACEK GNB and those caused by GPB, however larger cohort studies are needed.