Long-term Outcome of Neurological Complications after Infective Endocarditis

Severe neurological complications following infective endocarditis remain a major problem with high mortality rate. The long-term neurological consequences following infective endocarditis remain uncertain. Otherwise, neurosurgeries could be performed after these complications; however, few clinical series have reported the results. Therefore, we utilized a large, nationwide database to unveil the long-term mortality and neurosurgical outcome following infective endocarditis. We included patients with a first-time discharge diagnosis of infective endocarditis between January 2001 and December 2013 during hospitalization. Patients were further divided into subgroups consisting of neurological complications under neurosurgical treatment and complications under non-neurosurgical treatment. Long-term result of symptomatic neurological complications after infective endocarditis and all-cause mortality after different kinds of neurosurgeries were analyzed. There were 16,495 patients with infective endocarditis included in this study. Symptomatic neurological complications occurred in 1,035 (6.27%) patients, of which 279 (26.96%) accepted neurosurgical procedures. Annual incidence of neurological complications gradually increased from 3.6% to 7.4% (P < 0.001). The mortality rate among these patients was higher than that among patients without complications (48.5% vs. 46.1%, P = 0.012, increased from 20% initially to nearly 50% over the 5-year follow-up). However, neurosurgery had no effect on the long-term mortality rate (50.9% vs. 47.6%, P = 0.451). Incidence of neurological complications post-infective endocarditis is increasing, and patients with these complications have higher mortality rates than patients without. Neurosurgery in these populations was not associated with higher long-term mortality. Therefore, it should not be ruled out as an option for those with neurological complications.