Clinical Characteristics and Follow-Up Data in a Series of Twenty Infective Endocarditis Complicated of Rheumatic Manifestations

The infective endocarditis is a septicemia complicated of many systemic manifestations. Rheumatic manifestations can be revelatory, leading sometimes to a lateness diagnosis. The aim of this study is to determine the epidemiological, clinical, bacteriological profile and the follow up in patients affected of an infective endocarditis complicated of rheumatic manifestations. It’s a retrospective study concerning the period from January 1990 to December 2015. The analysis had implicated epidemiological, clinical, biological data, in association to immunological, bacteriological and radiological examinations. All the patients fulfilled the revised Duke’s criteria for the infective endocarditis. Articular and osseous radiographs, blood culture, transthoracic and/or transoesophageal echocardiography were performed in all patients. Twenty patients had rheumatic manifestations. The mean age was 37 years. There were arthralgia in 15 cases, myalgia in 5 cases and arthritis in 8 cases: 6 cases of mono-arthritis and 2 cases of oligo-arthritis. All patients had an inflammatory biological syndrome. The blood culture was positive in all the cases. Echocardiography revealed vegetations in all the patients: mitral in 10 cases, aortic in 4 cases, mitral and aortic in 4 cases, aortic and tricuspid in 1 case, tricuspid in 1 case. The radiological examination found 2 cases of spondylodiscitis and a case of saco-iliitis. The articular outcome was favorable in 17 cases. Three patients had died. The infective endocarditis should be considered in case of febrile arthritis. An early diagnosis and adapted treatment are guarantors of better prognosis.