Prevalence of Infective Endocarditis in Streptococcal Bloodstream Infections Is Dependent on Streptococcal Species.

Background: Streptococci frequently cause infective endocarditis (IE), yet the prevalence of IE in patients with bloodstream infections (BSIs) caused by different streptococcal species is unknown. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of IE at species level in patients with streptococcal BSIs.

Methods: We investigated all patients with streptococcal BSIs, from 2008 to 2017, in the Capital Region of Denmark.

New-onset atrial fibrillation: incidence, characteristics, and related events following a national COVID-19 lockdown of 5.6 million people.

Aim: To determine the incidence, patient characteristics, and related events associated with new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) during a national COVID-19 lockdown.

Methods And Results: Using nationwide Danish registries, we included all patients, aged 18-90 years, receiving a new-onset AF diagnosis during the first 3 months of 2019 and 2020. The main comparison was between patients diagnosed during lockdown (12 March 12-1 April 2020) and patients diagnosed in the corresponding period 1 year previously.

Association of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor or Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Use With COVID-19 Diagnosis and Mortality.

Importance: It has been hypothesized that angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs)/angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) may make patients more susceptible to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to worse outcomes through upregulation of the functional receptor of the virus, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2.

Objective: To examine whether use of ACEI/ARBs was associated with COVID-19 diagnosis and worse outcomes in patients with COVID-19.

Design, Setting, And Participants: To examine outcomes among patients with COVID-19, a retrospective cohort study using data from Danish national administrative registries was conducted.

Recommendations on Securing Microbiological Specimens to Guide the Multidisciplinary Management of Infective Native Aortic Aneurysms.

Background: The absence of recommendations for the systematic collection of microbiological specimens to help determine the management of infective native aortic aneurysms (INAAs) may lead to diagnostic difficulty and suboptimal antibiotic treatment. In this review, we attempt to establish recommendations in the field by identifying current strategies for the diagnosis and management of INAA and comparing them with those for infective endocarditis (IE).

Methods: A systematic literature review of Medline and ScienceDirect databases was performed using PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses)methodology to identify guidelines for the management of INAA.

Incidence of New-Onset and Worsening Heart Failure Before and After the COVID-19 Epidemic Lockdown in Denmark: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

Background: The Danish government ordered a public lockdown on March 12, 2020, because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We investigated the immediate consequences of such a lockdown for patients with heart failure (HF).

Methods: Using the Danish nationwide administrative databases, we investigated the incidence of new-onset HF and hospitalizations for worsening HF before and after the lockdown (January 1 to March 11 versus March 12 to March 31) in 2020 versus 2019.

Dabigatran and the Risk of Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

Background: Treatment with dabigatran, an oral direct thrombin inhibitor, reduces the virulence of Staphylococcus aureus in in vitro and in vivo models. However, it remains to be determined whether dabigatran reduces the risk of S. aureus infections in humans.

Care and outcomes of urban and non-urban out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients during the HeartRescue Project in Washington state and North Carolina.

Aim: We examined overall and temporal differences in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) care and outcomes by urban versus non-urban setting separately for North Carolina (NC) and Washington State (WA) during HeartRescue initiatives and associations of urban/non-urban settings with outcome by state.

Methods: OHCAs of presumed cardiac etiology from counties with complete registry enrollment in NC during 2010-2014 (catchment population = 3,143,809) and WA during 2011-2014 (catchment population = 3,653,506) were identified. Geospatial arrest location data and US Census classification were used to categorize urban areas with ≥50,000 versus non-urban <50,000 people.

Readmission and death in patients admitted with new-onset versus worsening of chronic heart failure: insights from a nationwide cohort.

Aims: To examine the rates of all-cause mortality and heart failure (HF) readmission in patients hospitalized with decompensated HF according to HF duration - new-onset HF and worsening of chronic HF.

Methods And Results: In this nationwide observational cohort study, 17 176 patients were included at first hospital admission for HF in the period 2013-2015 using data from Danish nationwide registries. In total, 8860 (51.

Recurrent infective endocarditis versus first-time infective endocarditis after heart valve surgery.

Objective: Infective endocarditis (IE) may require heart valve surgery. It is well known that heart valve surgery itself and previous IE predispose to IE. However, data are sparse on whether the risk of IE is different among patients undergoing valve surgery due to IE and other causes (i.

Quality of life and the associated risk of all-cause mortality in nonischemic heart failure.

Objectives: To examine the association between health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and mortality in patients with heart failure (HF).

Background: The potential association of HRQoL and mortality in patients with HF is unclear. We investigated this association in The Danish Study to Assess the Efficacy of Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICD) in Patients with Non-ischemic Systolic Heart Failure on Mortality (DANISH).

Room for improvement: initiation of lipid-lowering treatment and achievement of lipid target levels-a Danish registry-based study.

Aims: Prevention of adverse outcomes in individuals with high cholesterol levels may be improved by intensified lipid-lowering treatment (LLT). We studied whether treatment goals of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were reached within 1 year from baseline (defined as first LDL-C measurement) in a Danish population.

Methods And Results: Danish registries were used to identify all persons in the Northern Region of Denmark who had LDL-C measured between 1997 and 2012 and who were naïve to LLT.

Secondary stroke prophylaxis in atrial fibrillation patients with chronic kidney disease: a nationwide cohort study.

Aims: Oral anticoagulation (OAC) therapy as secondary stroke prophylaxis in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains unexplored and poses a clinical treatment dilemma. We assessed the long-term risk of thromboembolic events according to post-stroke OAC therapy in AF patients with CKD after their first ischaemic stroke.

Methods And Results: We identified Danish AF patients with CKD who presented with first-time ischaemic stroke from 2005 to 2014.

One-year outcomes in atrial fibrillation presenting during infections: a nationwide registry-based study.

Aims: Thromboprophylaxis guidelines for patients with concurrent atrial fibrillation (AF) during infections are unclear and not supported by data. We compared 1-year outcomes in patients with infection-related AF and infection without AF.

Methods And Results: By crosslinking Danish nationwide registry data, AF naïve patients admitted with infection (1996-2016) were identified.

Risk of gastrointestinal bleeding associated with oral anticoagulation and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in patients with atrial fibrillation: a nationwide study.

Aims: Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) are displacing vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) for stroke prophylaxis in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Concomitant use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) could increase gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) risks among these patients. The aim of this study was to examine the risk of GIB among Danish AF patients taking oral anticoagulants (OACs) and NSAIDs.

Switching from vitamin K antagonist to dabigatran in atrial fibrillation: differences according to dose.

Aims: In atrial fibrillation (AF) patients 150 mg b.i.d.

Early and late risk of ischemic stroke after TAVR as compared to a nationwide background population.

Ischemic stroke is a feared complication associated with transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Data on the late risk of ischemic stroke following TAVR are scarce. This study aimed to investigate the early (0-90 days) and late (90 days-5 years) risk of ischemic cerebrovascular events (CVE) in a large, unselected cohort of patients undergoing TAVR and to compare this risk with a matched background population.

Vitamin K antagonists vs. direct oral anticoagulants after transcatheter aortic valve implantation in atrial fibrillation.

Aims: To examine the risk of arterial thromboembolism, bleeding, and all-cause mortality in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients treated with direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) vs. vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

Methods And Results: In this nationwide observational cohort study, 735 patients undergoing TAVI from 1 January 2012 to 30 June 2017 with a history of AF and who were treated with oral anticoagulants were identified using data from Danish nationwide registries.

Long-term Thromboembolic Risk in Patients With Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation After Left-Sided Heart Valve Surgery.

Importance: New-onset postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is a common complication of cardiac surgery. However, data on the long-term risk of thromboembolism in patients who develop POAF after heart valve surgery are conflicting. In addition, data on stroke prophylaxis in this setting are lacking.

Diagnostic Potential of Intracardiac Echocardiography in Patients with Suspected Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis.

Background: The use of transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography may be challenging in patients suspected of having prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE). Intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) provides a new diagnostic tool in the examination of patients with PVE, yet few data on its use have been published.

Methods: From January 2012 to December 2016, patients with suspected PVE and inconclusive findings on transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography were further examined with ICE.