Long-term prognosis of early and late prosthetic valve endocarditis.

A prospective series of 78 cases of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) was studied (35 cases of early PVE and 43 cases of late PVE). The in-hospital mortality rate was significantly higher in patients with early PVE (31% vs 9%, p <0.01) because the onset of heart failure was more common in these patients (55% vs 37%, p <0.05). However, event-free survival at 4 years in survivors to the active phase was not different (74% and 82%, respectively).