Occurrence of fatal infective endocarditis: a population-based study in Finland

• Published in: BMC infectious diseases 2019-11, Vol.19 (1), p.987-987, Article 987
• Main Authors: Ahtela, Elina, Oksi, Jarmo, Sipilä, Jussi, Rautava, Päivi, Kytö, Ville
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adults; Age; Aged; Aging; Bacterial diseases; Bacterial infections; Cardiovascular disease; Cause of death; Confidence intervals; Death; Endocarditis; Endocarditis - epidemiology; Endocarditis - mortality; Endocarditis, Bacterial - microbiology; Epidemiology; Fatalities; Female; Finland; Finland - epidemiology; Health aspects; Health risks; Hospitalization; Humans; Incidence; Incidence rate; Infection; Infectious diseases; Infective endocarditis; Male; Men; Middle Aged; Mortality; Population; Population studies; Population-based studies; Registries - statistics & numerical data; Risk; Risk Factors; Studies; Trends; Women; Womens health; Young Adult; Young adults
• ISSN: 1471-2334; 1471-2334
• DOI: 10.1186/s12879-019-4620-0

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a serious mainly bacterial infection associated with high mortality. Epidemiology of fatal IE is however largely unknown. We studied occurrence and trends of fatal IE in a population-based setting. All adults (≥18 years of age) who deceased due to IE in Finland during 2004-2016 were studied. Data was collected from the nationwide, obligatory Cause of Death Registry. Background population consisted of 28,657,870 person-years and 651,556 deaths. Infective endocarditis contributed to death in 754 cases and was the underlying cause of death in 352 cases. The standardized incidence rate of deaths associated with IE was 1.42 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.32-1.52) per 100,000 person-years. Incidence rate increased progressively with aging from 50 years of age. Men had a two-fold risk of acquiring fatal infective endocarditis compared to women (risk ratio (RR) 1.95; 95% CI: 1.71-2.22; P