Objective: Glucagon and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) originate from the common precursor, proglucagon, and their plasma concentrations have been reported to be increased during inflammatory conditions. Increased blood glucose levels are frequently observed in septic patients, and therefore we hypothesized that glucagon, but not GLP-1, is increased in individuals with inflammation.
Design: Prospective longitudinal cohort study.
Purpose: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a serious complication of bacteremia and is most often caused by Gram positive cocci. We investigated the prevalence of IE in patients where echocardiography was encouraged when bacteremia with Gram positive cocci was present.
Methods: The study included patients with Gram positive cocci bacteremia hospitalized at two Danish hospitals between March and December 2016.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the ability to detect extra-cardiac foci by means of whole-body F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) in patients with definite endocarditis (IE) according to the modified Duke criteria and investigate the clinical impact of the findings. From January 2011 to December 2015 we included 178 patients (mean age 66 ± 14 years, 25% female) with IE in this multicentre study. FDG-PET/CT was part of the work-up for extra-cardiac foci in the including hospitals and was performed at a median of 9 days (IQR 10) after IE was diagnosed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Several studies have reported a high risk of ischemic stroke (IS) during the acute phase of infective endocarditis (IE). The long-term risk of IS after IE, however, is not fully illuminated.
Methods: This Danish, nationwide, register-based, propensity score-matched cohort study used Cox regression to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) of IS for persons with vs without a history of left-sided IE, from 1977 to 2015.
Treatment of infective endocarditis (IE) is a 4-6-week provided course of intravenously administered antibiotics. The aim of this study was to investigate how serum metabolites as measured by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (H NMR) spectroscopy are changing over time during the active phase of IE, and to see whether these metabolite changes might be used to monitor recovery in these patients. Patients hospitalized with first-time IE at Herlev Hospital, Denmark, from September 2015 to June 2017 were included.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Patients with infective endocarditis on the left side of the heart are typically treated with intravenous antibiotic agents for up to 6 weeks. Whether a shift from intravenous to oral antibiotics once the patient is in stable condition would result in efficacy and safety similar to those with continued intravenous treatment is unknown.
Methods: In a randomized, noninferiority, multicenter trial, we assigned 400 adults in stable condition who had endocarditis on the left side of the heart caused by streptococcus, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, or coagulase-negative staphylococci and who were being treated with intravenous antibiotics to continue intravenous treatment (199 patients) or to switch to oral antibiotic treatment (201 patients).
Background: The present study aimed to investigate the long-term risk of hemorrhagic stroke (HS) in patients with infective endocarditis (IE).
Methods: Using a register-based nationwide cohort of 9 million Danes, we performed propensity score matching between patients with left-sided IE from 1977 to mid-2015 and IE-free individuals (1:10). Follow-up started 1 year after the IE diagnosis.