Cell-derived microvesicles in infective endocarditis: Role in diagnosis and potential for risk stratification at hospital admission.

Objectives: To characterize the plasmatic profile of cell-derived microvesicles (MVs) at diagnosis and during the treatment of patients with infective endocarditis (IE).

Methods: Blood samples from 57 patients with IE were obtained on 3 consecutive moments: upon admission (T0), at 2 weeks (T1), and at the end of treatment (T2), and were compared with 22 patients with other bacterial infections. MPs were measured by flow cytometry and labeled for specific cell markers of CD45 (leukocytes), CD66b (neutrophils), CD14 (monocytes), CD41a (platelets), CD51 (endothelial cells), CD3 (T lymphocyte) and CD235a (erythrocytes).

Outcomes of infective endocarditis in the current era: Early predictors of a poor prognosis.

Background: The early identification of patients at risk of complications of infective endocarditis (IE) using parameters obtained as part of routine practice is essential for guiding clinical decision-making. This study aimed to identify a parameter at hospital admission that predicts the outcome, adding value to other well-known factors of a poor prognosis in IE.

Methods: Two hundred and three patients with IE were included in this study.

Platelets and platelet adhesion molecules: novel mechanisms of thrombosis and anti-thrombotic therapies.

Platelets are central mediators of thrombosis and hemostasis. At the site of vascular injury, platelet accumulation (i.e.