Early extraction versus conservative management in patients with noninfected cardiac implantable electronic devices undergoing cardiac surgery for left-sided infective endocarditis: Insights from the multicentric Clinical Multicenter Project for Analysis of Infective Endocarditis in Germany Registry.

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the outcomes of patients with left-sided infective endocarditis (IE) and noninfected cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) undergoing cardiac surgery, with a focus on whether the CIED was removed.

Methods: Retrospective analysis based on the Clinical Multicenter Project for Analysis of Infective Endocarditis in Germany Registry, comprising patients with left-sided IE who underwent valve surgery between 1994 and 2018 in 6 German centers. Two treatment strategies were compared: CIED extraction versus no extraction.

Infective endocarditis in octogenarians-a multicenter analysis†.

Objectives: In an older population, infective endocarditis (IE) tends to present uniquely. In this study, we investigate the clinical presentation, microbiological profile and outcomes of IE in octogenarians.

Methods: This multicentre retrospective analysis includes 4917 consecutive patients suffering from IE.

Aortic and Mitral Valve Endocarditis-Simply Left-Sided Endocarditis or Different Entities Requiring Individual Consideration?-Insights from the CAMPAIGN Database.

: Aortic valve infective endocarditis (AV-IE) and mitral valve infective endocarditis (MV-IE) are often grouped together as one entity: left-sided endocarditis. However, there are significant differences between the valves in terms of anatomy, physiology, pressure, and calcification tendency. This study aimed to compare AV-IE and MV-IE in terms of patient characteristics, pathogen profiles, postoperative outcomes, and predictors of mortality.

Setting up an institutional OMERO environment for bioimage data: Perspectives from both facility staff and users.

Modern bioimaging core facilities at research institutions are essential for managing and maintaining high-end instruments, providing training and support for researchers in experimental design, image acquisition and data analysis. An important task for these facilities is the professional management of complex multidimensional bioimaging data, which are often produced in large quantity and very different file formats. This article details the process that led to successfully implementing the OME Remote Objects system (OMERO) for bioimage-specific research data management (RDM) at the Core Facility Cellular Imaging (CFCI) at the Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden).

Oxygenator assisted dynamic microphysiological culture elucidates the impact of hypoxia on valvular interstitial cell calcification.

Introduction: Microphysiological systems (MPS) offer simulation of (patho)physiological parameters. Investigation includes items which lead to fibrosis and calcification in development and progress of calcific aortic valve disease, based e.g.

Outcomes following heart valve surgery in patients with infective endocarditis and preoperative septic cerebral embolism: insights from the CAMPAIGN study group.

Objectives: This study aimed to analyse the impact of preoperative septic cerebral embolism on early and late postoperative outcomes in patients with infective endocarditis undergoing valve surgery.

Methods: Retrospective multicentric study based on the Clinical Multicentric Project for Analysis of Infective Endocarditis in Germany (CAMPAIGN) registry comprising patients with infective endocarditis who underwent valve surgery between 1994 and 2018 at 6 German centres. Patients were divided into 2 groups for statistical comparison according to the presence or absence of preoperative septic cerebral embolism.

Tissue requirements for the application of aortic valve neocuspidization - appropriate pericardium properties and homogeneity?

Objective: Aortic valve neocuspidization (AVNeo) using autologous pericardium is a promising technique. Expected advantages are reduced immune response, appropriate biomechanics and lower treatment expenses. Nevertheless, autologous pericardium can be affected by patient's age and comorbidities.

Clinical Outcomes after Multivalve Surgery in Octogenarians: Evaluating the Need for a Paradigm Shift.

(1) Background: this study addresses the lack of comprehensive research on outcomes in octogenarians undergoing cardiac surgery for multivalvular disease, emphasizing the need for a critical examination of the intervention's overall worth in this aging population. (2) Methods: By analyzing short-term and mid-term data from 101 consecutive octogenarian patients undergoing multivalve surgery, the study identifies predictors for in-hospital and one-year mortality. (3) Results: In-hospital mortality increased fourfold with the occurrence of at least one postoperative complication.

Challenges of aortic valve tissue culture - maintenance of viability and extracellular matrix in the pulsatile dynamic microphysiological system.

Background: Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) causes an increasing health burden in the 21 century due to aging population. The complex pathophysiology remains to be understood to develop novel prevention and treatment strategies. Microphysiological systems (MPSs), also known as organ-on-chip or lab-on-a-chip systems, proved promising in bridging in vitro and in vivo approaches by applying integer AV tissue and modelling biomechanical microenvironment.

Cardiac Surgery for Treatment of COVID-19-Associated Infectious Endocarditis.

Background: Significant uncertainty exists about the optimal timing of surgery for infectious endocarditis (IE) surgery in patients with active SARS-CoV-2 infection. This case series and a systematic review of the literature were carried out to evaluate the timing of surgery and postsurgical outcomes for patients with COVID-19-associated IE.

Methods: The PubMed database was searched for reports published from June 20, 2020, to June 24, 2021, that contained the terms infective endocarditis and COVID-19.

Hemocompatibility tuning of an innovative glutaraldehyde-free preparation strategy using riboflavin/UV crosslinking and electron irradiation of bovine pericardium for cardiac substitutes.

Hemocompatibility tuning was adopted to explore and refine an innovative, GA-free preparation strategy combining decellularization, riboflavin/UV crosslinking, and low-energy electron irradiation (SULEEI) procedure. A SULEEI-protocol was established to avoid GA-dependent deterioration that results in insufficient long-term aortic valve bioprosthesis durability. Final SULEEI-pericardium, intermediate steps and GA-fixed reference pericardium were exposed in vitro to fresh human whole blood to elucidate effects of preparation parameters on coagulation and inflammation activation and tissue histology.

Infrared Spectroscopic Verification of a α-Helical Collagen Structure in Glutaraldehyde-Free Crosslinked Bovine Pericardium for Cardiac Implants.

The degeneration of heart valve bioprostheses due to calcification processes is caused by the intercalation of calciumhydroxyapatite in pericardium collagen bundles. Variations of the protein secondary structure of biomaterials according to preparation are relevant for this mineralization process and thus the structural characterization of innovative bioprostheses materials is of great importance. The gold standard for prostheses preparation is glutaraldehyde (GA)-fixation of bovine pericardium that adversely promotes calcification.

Virulence of Staphylococcus Infection in Surgically Treated Patients With Endocarditis : A Multicenter Analysis.

Objective: Infective endocarditis (IE) caused by Staphylococcus species (spp.) is believed to be associated with higher morbidity and mortality rates. We hypothesize that Staphylococcus spp.

Aortic root reinforcement in aortic valve endocarditis with annular abscess: The Calamari procedure.

Treatment of infective endocarditis can often prove challenging due to its wide range of anatomical presentations. When complicated by an aortic root abscess, patients may require extensive root surgery, which on its own leads to a worse outcome. We present our experience with a surgical technique for reinforcing the aortic annulus with a ring from a Dacron aortic prosthesis placed in the left ventricular outflow tract to avoid the need for root replacement procedures or patch closures of the defect.

Redo surgery for noninfective isolated mitral valve disease: Initial outcome and further follow-up compared to primary surgery.

Introduction: Isolated redo-mitral valve replacement (iMVR) is underreported and often mixed up with endocarditis in the present literature. The present study compares first with redo iMVR in noninfective mitral disease.

Patients And Methods: A total of 3821 mitral valve procedures were analyzed.

Impact of the 2009 ESC Guideline Change on Surgically Treated Infective Endocarditis.

Background: In 2009, updated European Society of Cardiology guidelines on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infective endocarditis (IE) were released and restricted the use of antibiotic prophylaxis to high-risk patients only. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of the restrictive antibiotic regimen on the incidence and manifestations of surgically treated IE before and after the guideline change.

Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed data of 4917 patients who underwent valve surgical procedures for IE between 1994 and 2018 in 6 German cardiac surgery centers.

Brillouin confocal microscopy to determine biomechanical properties of SULEEI-treated bovine pericardium for application in cardiac surgery.

Background: Heart valves are exposed to a highly dynamic environment and underlie high tensile and shear forces during opening and closing. Therefore, analysis of mechanical performance of novel heart valve bioprostheses materials, like SULEEI-treated bovine pericardium, is essential and usually carried out by uniaxial tensile tests. Nevertheless, major drawbacks are the unidirectional strain, which does not reflect the in vivo condition and the deformation of the sample material.

Role of Concomitant Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in Valve Surgery for Infective Endocarditis.

Background: It is current practice to perform concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with infective endocarditis (IE) who have relevant coronary artery disease (CAD). However, CABG may add complexity to the operation. We aimed to investigate the impact of concomitant CABG on perioperative outcomes in patients undergoing surgery for IE.

Optical coherence tomography and multiphoton microscopy offer new options for the quantification of fibrotic aortic valve disease in ApoE mice.

Aortic valve sclerosis is characterized as the thickening of the aortic valve without obstruction of the left ventricular outflow. It has a prevalence of 30% in people over 65 years old. Aortic valve sclerosis represents a cardiovascular risk marker because it may progress to moderate or severe aortic valve stenosis.

Sterilization and Cross-Linking Combined with Ultraviolet Irradiation and Low-Energy Electron Irradiation Procedure: New Perspectives for Bovine Pericardial Implants in Cardiac Surgery.

Background:  Bovine pericardium is the major natural source of patches and aortic valve substitutes in cardiac repair procedures. However, long-term tissue durability and biocompatibility issues lead to degeneration (e.g.

Surgical results for prosthetic versus native valve endocarditis: A multicenter analysis.

Objectives: Prosthetic valve endocarditis is associated with worse outcomes compared with native valve endocarditis. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of native valve endocarditis versus prosthetic valve endocarditis on postoperative outcomes and long-term survival and to identify preoperative risk factors in a large cohort of 4300 patients with infective endocarditis.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted in 5 German Cardiac Surgery Centers: the Clinical Multicenter Project of Analysis of Infective Endocarditis in Germany.

Treatment with XAV-939 prevents in vitro calcification of human valvular interstitial cells.

The development of a substance or inhibitor-based treatment strategy for the prevention of aortic valve stenosis is a challenge and a main focus of medical research in this area. One strategy may be to use the tankyrase inhibitor XAV-939, which leads to Axin stabilisation and subsequent destruction of the β-catenin complex and dephosphorylation of β-catenin. The dephosphorylated active form of β-catenin (non-phospho-β-catenin) then promotes nuclear transcription that leads to osteogenesis.

Stabilization and Sterilization of Pericardial Scaffolds by Ultraviolet and Low-Energy Electron Irradiation.

Pericardium-based tissue transplantation is a lifesaving treatment. Commercial glutaraldehyde-treated pericardial tissue exhibits cytotoxicity, which is associated with the accelerated graft failure. Replacement of glutaraldehyde has been suggested to overcome those drawbacks.