Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2
pubmed:dateCreated
1990-4-19
pubmed:abstractText
Intravenous drug addicts have always been at risk for acquiring infective endocarditis. In the United States in recent years, as many as 50% of addicts have become infected also with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Since testing became available in late 1984, we have knowingly performed open cardiac surgery for endocarditis 11 times in HIV-positive patients. In 7, signs of infection were still presented at the time of surgery. Four died within 2 months of continued or recurrent sepsis. The others are alive, although 1 has returned to IV drug abuse. Open heart surgery was performed 4 times in patients whose endocarditis had been cured by antibiotics but who were left with destroyed valves and severe congestive cardiac failure. All these patients left hospital alive and well. One has since died of AIDS. Ten addicts with endocarditis coming to surgery in the pre-AIDS era had similar valvular pathology but only 2 with uncontrolled infection. All were cured by the combination of antibiotics and surgery. Conclusions: in HIV-positive patients with endocarditis, continued sepsis despite appropriate antibiotic therapy signals a potentially very serious prognosis which may be due to an already seriously impaired immune state. By contrast, in the absence of uncontrolled infection, HIV-positive patients appear to have a normal response to open cardiac surgery. Data on the risk to the patient of progressing to AIDS and the risk to the surgical team of acquiring HIV infection are unknown. Testing is vital for answering these questions.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
1010-7940
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
3
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
146-50; discussion 150-1
pubmed:dateRevised
2004-11-17
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1989
pubmed:articleTitle
Cardiac surgery in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) carriers.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article