Objective
Several studies have demonstrated a shift in the spectrum of infective endocarditis (IE) in the developed world. We aimed to investigate whether demographic and microbiologic characteristics of IE have changed in India.
Design
A retrospective analysis of patients with in north India between 2010 and 2020.
Methods
The clinical and laboratory profiles of 199 IE admitted to an academic hospital patients who met the modified Duke criteria for definite IE were analysed.
Results
The mean age was 34 years, and 84% were males. The main predisposing conditions were injection drug use (IDU) (
n
= 71, 35.7%), congenital heart disease (
n
= 46, 21.6%), rheumatic heart disease (
n
= 25, 12.5%), and prosthetic device (
n
= 19, 9.5%). 17.1% of patients developed IE without identified predispositions. Among 64.3% culture-positive cases, the most prevalent causative pathogens were
Staphylococcus aureus
(46.1%), viridans streptococci (7.0%), enterococci (6.0%), coagulase-negative staphylococci (5.5%), gram negative bacilli (5.5%), polymicrobial (5.5%), and
Candida
(1.0%). The tricuspid (30.3%), mitral (25.6%), and aortic (21.6%) valves were the most common sites of infection, and 60.3% had large vegetations (>10 mm). Systemic embolization occurred in 55.3% of patients at presentation. Cardiac surgery was required for 13.1%. In-hospital mortality was 17.1% and was associated with prosthetic devices (
p
-value, 0.001), baseline leucocytosis (
p
-value, 0.036) or acute kidney injury (
p
-value, 0.001), and a microbial etiology of gram negative bacilli or enterococci (
p
-value, 0.005).
Conclusion
IDU is now the most important predisposition for IE in India, and
S. aureus
has become the leading cause of native valve endocarditis with or without IDU.