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Our understanding of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) is based on small case series, often from a single center or limited by retrospective design. Now, researchers have analyzed data from the International Collaboration on Endocarditis–Prospective Cohort Study, conducted at 61 centers in 28 countries. The 2670 participants were diagnosed with definite infective endocarditis (IE), as defined by modified Duke University criteria, between June 2000 and August 2005. Definite PVE was diagnosed in 556 (20.8%).
Compared to patients with native valve endocarditis, those with PVE were significantly older, less likely to be hemodialysis-dependent or to use injection drugs, and more likely to have healthcare-associated infection, intracardiac absce…