163. Infective Endocarditis in Qatar: Risk Factors, Clinical Characteristics, Microbiology, and Outcomes

BACKGROUND: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a serious and life-threatening disease. The aim of the study is to describe the epidemiology, clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with IE in Qatar. METHODS: Patients were identified from the electronic records of Hamad Medical Corporation hospitals, the national referral center for the State of Qatar. Those aged ≥18 years with Duke Criteria-based diagnosis of IE during the period from January 2015 to September 2017 were included. Data were analyzed using STATA software Version 15. RESULTS: Fifty-seven cases were included, of which 70% were males. Mean age was 51 years (± 16.8). Eleven (19%) were in association with prosthetic valves and 6 (11%) with implantable cardiac devices (Table 1). Fever (84%), dyspnea (46%) and heart failure were the commonest presentations. The majority of patients had preexisting valvular heart disease or intra-cardiac devices (Table 1). Skin infections (10, 18%) were the most prevalent portals of infection, followed by venous catheters, recent valve surgery and implantable cardiac devices (Table 1). Staphylococcus species were implicated in 19 (34%) and Streptococcaceae in 9 (16%); whereas 21 (37%) were culture-negative (Table 2). Left-side IE (49, 86%) was predominant. Acute kidney injury (AKI) (17, 30%) and heart failure (11, 19%) were common complications. The most frequently used treatment regimens included glycopeptides or Β-lactams (Table 2). Only 9 (16%) patients underwent surgical intervention. Fourteen (25%) patients died of any cause before hospital discharge. Logistic regression analysis identified septic shock and AKI as the only risk factors independently associated with in-hospital mortality (Table 3). CONCLUSION: Skin infections are an important risk for IE in Qatar. The majority of patients with IE have preexisting cardiac conditions. Staphylococci are the commonest confirmed bacterial etiology of IE in Qatar, but nearly one-third of cases are culture-negative. Only a small proportion of patients with IE undergo surgical intervention and overall mortality is high. The findings suggest that efforts should be directed toward improving IE prevention strategies in high-risk patients, encourage early microbiological investigations and improved medical and surgical management. [Image: see text] [Image: see text] [Image: see text] DISCLOSURES: All authors: No reported disclosures.