For their study, researchers compared standard treatment (antibiotics, with surgery only for severe cases) to antibiotics in addition to surgery soon after diagnosis of infective endocarditis, an infection of tissues lining the heart.
Researchers randomly assigned 76 patients to receive either surgery to remove infected tissue and repair damage within 48 hours of diagnosis or standard treatment, which includes antibiotics and surgery only in severe cases unresponsive to antibiotics or other life-threatening complications.
The results showed early surgery for infective endocarditis eliminated some complications and repeat infections. For instance, patients who underwent early surgery had no vascular obstruction, while five strokes and three arterial obstructions occurred among those on standard treatment. In addition, none of the early-surgery patients had developed stroke or another infection six months after treatment. In contrast, 23 percent of those who received standard therapy developed complications.
The in-hospital and post-discharge death rates were comparable for both groups.
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