Aims Transcatheter aortic valve replacement-related infective endocarditis (TAVR-IE) is associated with a poor prognosis. TAVR-IE diagnosis is challenging, and benefits of the most recent classifications [European Society of Cardiology (ESC)-2015, International Society for Cardiovascular Infectious Diseases (ISCVID)-2023, and ESC-2023] have not been compared with the conventional Duke criteria on this population. The primary objective was to compare the diagnostic value of the Duke, ESC-2015, ISCVID-2023, and ESC-2023 criteria for the diagnosis of TAVR-IE. The secondary objectives were to determine which criteria increase the diagnostic accuracy of each classification and to evaluate in-hospital and 1-year mortality of TAVR-IE. Methods and results From January 2015 to May 2022, 92 patients with suspected TAVR-IE were retrospectively included in two French centres, including 82 patients with definite TAVR-IE and 10 patients with rejected TAVR-IE as defined by expert consensus. Duke classification yielded a sensitivity of 65% [95% confidence interval (CI): 53-75%] and a specificity of 100% (95% CI: 69-100%) for the diagnosis of TAVR-IE. ESC-2015 classification increased Duke criterion sensitivity from 65 to 73% (P = 0.016) but decreased specificity from 100 to 90%. ISCVID-2023 and ESC-2023 also increased Duke criterion sensitivity from 65 to 76% (P = 0.004) and 77% (P = 0.002), respectively, but also decreased specificity from 100 to 90%. A positive 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) was the most helpful criterion, as 10 patients (11%) were correctly reclassified. In-hospital mortality after TAVR-IE was 21% and 1-year mortality was 38%. Conclusion A multimodality imaging approach, including 18F-FDG PET/CT and gated cardiac CT, is the cornerstone of TAVR-IE diagnosis and explains the higher sensitivity of ESC-2015 and recent classifications compared with Duke criteria.

Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a serious condition which is difficult to diagnose and to treat, both medically and surgically. Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the management of patients with IE. Methods: We conducted a single-centre retrospective study including patients hospitalized for IE during the pandemic (Group 2) compared with the same period the year before (Group 1). We compared clinical, laboratory, imagery, therapeutic, and patient outcomes between the two groups. Results: A total of 283 patients were managed for possible or definite IE (164 in Group 1 and 119 in Group 2). There were more intravenous drug-related IE patients in Group 2 (p = 0.009). There was no significant difference in surgery including intra-cardiac device extraction (p = 0.412) or time to surgery (p = 0.894). The one-year mortality was similar in both groups (16% versus 17.7%, p = 0.704). The recurrence rate was not significantly different between the two groups (5.9% in Group 2 versus 9.1% in Group 1, p = 0.311). Conclusions: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic did not appear to have had a negative impact on the management of patients with IE. Maintenance of the activities of the endocarditis team within the referral centre probably contributed to this result. Nevertheless, the high proportion of intravenous drug-addicted patients in the pandemic cohort suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic had a major psychosocial impact.

Background. - Aortic valve infective endocarditis may be complicated by high-degree atrioventricular block in up to 10-20% of cases. Aim. - To assess high-degree atrioventricular block occurrence, contributing factors, prognosis and evolution in patients referred for aortic infective endocarditis. Methods. - Two hundred and five patients referred for aortic valve infective endocarditis between January 2018 and March 2021 were included in this study. A comprehensive assessment of clinical, electrocardiographic, biological, microbiological and imaging data was conducted, with a follow-up carried out over 1 year. Results. - High-degree atrioventricular block occurred in 22 (11%) patients. In univariate analysis, high-degree atrioventricular block was associated with first-degree heart block at admission (odds ratio 3.1; P = 0.015), periannular complication on echocardiography (odds ratio 6.9; P < 0.001) and severe biological inflammatory syndrome, notably C-reactive protein (127 vs 90 mg/L; P = 0.011). In-hospital mortality (12.7%) was higher in patients with high-degree atrioventricular block (odds ratio 4.0; P = 0.011) in univariate analysis. Of the 16 patients implanted with a permanent pacemaker for high-degree atrioventricular block and interrogated, only four (25%) were dependent on the pacing function at 1-year follow-up. Conclusions. - High-degree atrioventricular block is associated with high inflammation markers and periannular complications, especially if first-degree heart block is identified at admission. High-degree atrioventricular block is a marker of infectious severity, and tends to raise the in-hospital mortality rate. Systematic assessment of patients admitted for infective endocarditis suspicion, considering these contributing factors, could indicate intensive care unit monitoring or even temporary pacemaker implantation in those at highest risk. (c) 2024 L'Auteur(s). Publie par Elsevier Masson SAS. Cet article est publie en Open Access sous licence CC BY-NC (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

IntroductionLes entérocoques sont des pathogènes fréquemment responsables d'endocardites infectieuses (EI), en particulier sur les valves prothétiques, avec une augmentation d'incidence récemment décrite chez les patients qui ont bénéficié d'une implantation de valve aortique par voie percutanée (TAVI). Le pronostic est sombre et reste mal connu sur le long terme chez les patients traités par antibiotiques seuls malgré une indication chirurgicale théorique.Matériels et méthodesNous avons réalisé une étude rétrospective en incluant les patients traités pour une EI à Enterococcus spp. sur valve prothétique hospitalisés dans notre centre hospitalier universitaire entre janvier 2012 et décembre 2022.RésultatsAu total 95 patients ont été inclus. Les patients étaient principalement de sexe masculin, avec un âge médian de 76 ans. Les EI touchaient majoritairement les valves prothétiques biologiques (62,1%) et les TAVI (21,1%). E. faecalis était l'agent étiologique principalement retrouvé (86,2%). La plupart des patients ont reçu une antibiothérapie associant amoxicilline et ceftriaxone. Un traitement chirurgical était indiqué chez 62,1 % des patients, mais seulement la moitié d'entre eux ont finalement été opérés. Un traitement antibiotique prolongé d'un an a été proposé pour 39 patients non opérés. 55,3 % d'entre eux ont poursuivi le traitement jusqu'à un an. Une seule rechute a été rapportée. Le taux de mortalité global à un an était de 41,1 %. La mortalité était statistiquement plus élevée lorsque la chirurgie n'était pas réalisée malgré son indication (P<.001), et lorsque l'amoxicilline n'était pas poursuivie sur du plus long terme après un traitement médical initial complet (P<.001).ConclusionL'EI à entérocoque sur valve prothétique est une affection grave, avec des taux de mortalité élevés attribués principalement aux caractéristiques des patients. Lorsqu'elle est indiquée, l'intervention chirurgicale semble être un facteur de survie majeur. Pour les patients non opérés, un traitement antibiotique prolongé pourrait être envisagé, dont la durée pourrait être guidée par 18F-FDG-PET/CT.Aucun lien d'intérêt

Background: The influence of different bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) morphology in the clinical course of infective endocarditis (IE) has not yet been investigated. This study aimed to describe the clinical and echocardiographic features of IE in patients with BAV (BAVIE) according to valve morphology.Methods: Patients with definite BAVIE prospectively enrolled in 4 high-volume referral centers from 2000 to 2019 were evaluated and divided into 2 groups according to the echocardiographic definition of fused BAV morphology: right-left coronary (RL type) and right noncoronary or left noncoronary (non-RL type) cusp fusion. All patients were followed up for 1 year.Results: One hundred thirty-eight patients with BAVIE were included (77.7% male; median age, 52 [36.8361.00] years): 112 patients with RL type (81%) and 26 patients with non-RL type BAV (19%), with no significant differences in age, sex, and comorbidities between groups. Although 43% of the cohort had known BAV, the referral was late after symptom onset, particularly for the RL phenotype; time from symptom onset to hospitalization >30 days (31.3% vs 11.5%; P = .032) and New York Heart Association class $ II (64.3% vs 42.3%; P = .039) were more frequent in patients with RL type BAV than in patients with non-RL type BAV. Conversely, patients with non-RL type BAV had a higher incidence of hemorrhagic stroke (19.2% vs 5.4%; P = .034) and high-grade atrioventricular block (11.5% vs 0.9%; P = .021). Streptococcus viridans was more frequently isolated in patients with non-RL type BAV than in patients with RL type BAV (44% vs 24.1%; P = .045). No difference in short-and intermediate-term mortality was observed between groups.Conclusions: Clinical profile and echocardiographic features in BAVIE patients may differ according to valve morphology, and patients with BAVIE appear to be referred late, even when BAV disease is previously known. (J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2023;36:760-8.)

AIMS We aimed to assess the role of multimodality imaging (MMI) in the diagnosis of marantic endocarditis (ME) associated with cancers and to describe clinical characteristics, management, and outcome of these patients. METHODS AND RESULTS In a retrospective multicentric study including four tertiary centers for treatment of endocarditis in France and Belgium, patients with a diagnosis of ME were included. Demographic, MMI (echocardiography, computed tomography (CT) and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F -FDG PET/CT) and management data were collected. Long-term mortality was analyzed. Between November 2011 and August 2021, 47 patients with a diagnosis of ME were included. Mean age was 65 +/- 11 years. ME occurred in 43 cases (91%) on native valves. Vegetations were detected by echocardiography in all cases and in 12 cases (26%) by CT. No patient had an increased cardiac 18F -FDG valve uptake. The most common cardiac valve involved was aortic (34 cases, 73%). 22 patients (46%) had a known cancer before ME and 25 cases (54%) were diagnosed thanks to multimodality imaging. 18-FDG PET/CT was performed in 30 patients (64%) and allowed a new diagnosis of cancer in 14 patients (30%). Systemic embolism was frequent (40 patients, 85% of cases). 41 patients (87%) were treated medically with anticoagulation therapy. One year mortality was 55% (26 patients). CONCLUSIONS ME remains associated with high risk of complications and death.

Aims To determine the prognosis of patients treated for infective endocarditis (IE) according to their healthcare pathway. To assess how the ESC guidelines are implemented concerning the performance of transoesophageal echocardiography, the use of antibiotic therapy, and the performance of valve surgery; and to compare the epidemiological profile of IE according to the type of centres in which the patients are hospitalized. Methods and results In a prospective multicentric study including 22 hospitals in the South-East of France, 342 patients were classified into three groups according to their healthcare pathway: 119 patients diagnosed and taken care entirely in a reference centre or hospital with cardiac surgery [Referral Center (RC) group], 111 patients diagnosed and initially taken care in a non-RC (NRC), then referred in a centre including cardiac surgery [transferred to the Referral Center (TRC) group] and 112 patients totally taken care in the NRC (NRC group). One-year mortality was 26% (88 deaths) and was not significantly different between Groups 1 and 2 (20 vs. 21%, P = 0.83). Patients in the NRC group had a higher mortality (37%) compared with patients in the RC and TRC groups (P < 0.001). ESC guidelines were not implemented similarly depending on the healthcare pathway (P = 0.04). Patients in the NRC group were significantly older (P < 0.001) and had more comorbidities (P < 0.001) than patients treated in referral centres. Conclusion Prognosis of patients with IE is influenced by their healthcare pathway. Patients treated exclusively in NRC have a worse prognosis than patients treated in referral or surgical centres.

Whipple’s disease (WD) is a chronic multisystemic infection caused by Tropheryma whipplei. If this bacterium presents an intracellular localization, associated with rare diseases and without pathognomonic signs, it is often subject to a misunderstanding of its physiopathology, often a misdiagnosis or simply an oversight. Here, we report the case of a patient treated for presumed rheumatoid arthritis. Recently, this patient presented to the hospital with infectious endocarditis. After surgery and histological analysis, we discovered the presence of T. whipplei. Electron microscopy allowed us to discover an atypical bacterial organization with a very large number of bacteria present in the extracellular medium in vegetation and valvular tissue. This atypical presentation we report here might be explained by the anti-inflammatory treatment administrated for our patient’s initial diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND:We systematically survey respiratory and gastrointestinal infections of viral origin in samples sent to our university hospital institute in Marseille, southern France. Here, we evaluated whether the measures implemented to fight COVID-19 had an effect on the dynamics of viral respiratory or gastrointestinal infections.METHODS:We analysed PCR performed and positive for the diagnoses of viral respiratory and gastrointestinal infections over five years (January 2017-February 2021). Data were collected from our epidemiological surveillance system (MIDaS). Dates and contents of French measures against SARS-CoV-2 were collected from: https://www.gouvernement.fr/info-coronavirus/les-actions-du-gouvernement.RESULTS:Over the 2017-2021 period, 990,364 analyses were carried out for respiratory infections not including SARS-CoV-2, 510,671 for SARS-CoV-2 and 27,719 for gastrointestinal infections. During winter 2020-2021, when the most restrictive lockdown measures were in place in France, a marked decrease of infections with influenza viruses (one case versus 1,839-1,850 cases during 2017-2020 cold seasons) and with the RSV (56 cases versus 988-1,196 cases during 2017-2020 cold seasons) was observed, demonstrating the relative effectiveness of these measures on their occurrence. SARS-CoV-2 incidence seemed far less affected. Rhinoviruses, parainfluenza 3 virus, and the coronavirus NL63 remained at comparable levels. Also, the norovirus winter season positivity rates decreased continuously and significantly over time from 9.3% in 2017-2018 to 2.0% in 2020-2021.CONCLUSION:The measures taken to control COVID-19 were effective against lower respiratory tract infections viruses and gastroenteritis agents, but not on the agents of the common winter cold and SARS-CoV-2. This suggests that more specific measures to prevent COVID-19 and upper respiratory tract infections need to be discovered to limit the spread of this epidemic.

Background. - In native mitral valve infective endocarditis (NMIE), the respective values of mitral valve repair (MVRep) and replacement (MVR) are still debated. Aim. - To compare MVRep and MVR in a large prospective matched cohort. Methods. - Between 2010 and 2017, all consecutive patients operated on for NMIE in our centre were included prospectively. Clinical and outcome features were compared between the two groups. Primary endpoint was event-free survival, including death, reoperation and relapse. Univariate and multivariable survival analyses and a propensity score analysis were performed. Results. - Among 152 patients, 115 (75.7%) underwent MVRep, and 37 (24.3%) MVR. Median follow-up was 28 +/- 22 months. Surgery was performed during the active phase in 75.0% of patients (25.7% on an urgent basis). Compared with the MVRep group, patients in the MVR group were more frequently intravenous drug abusers (10.8% vs. 0.9%; P = 0.016), had a more frequent history of rheumatic fever (13.5% vs. 0%; P = 0.001), more aortic abscesses (16.7% vs. 3.5%; P = 0.018), larger vegetations (16.6 +/- 8.1 mm vs. 12.6 +/- 9.9 mm; P = 0.042) and poorer New York Heart Association status (P = 0.006). Overall mortality was lower in the MVRep group than in MVR group (11.3% vs. 29.3%; P = 0.018). Event-free survival was better in the MVRep group than in the MVR group in univariate analysis (hazard ratio: 2.72, 95% confidence interval: 1.34-5.52; P = 0.004). Survival analysis in the propensity-matched cohort showed that MVRep was safer than MVR (log rank test: P = 0.018). Multivariable analysis using the Cox proportional hazard model confirmed this finding (hazard ratio: 3.48, 95% confidence interval: 1.15-10.61; P = 0.03). Conclusions. - MVRep is feasible in most cases of NMIE and, when technically possible, should be preferred, even in urgent surgery. (c) 2022 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Methods. - In a prospective, single-centre study in a referral centre for IE, all patients with IE underwent systematic screening for neurological complications. The primary outcome was 6-month death. In patients presenting with neurological complications, the prognosis according to surgical status was analysed and a Cox regression model used to identify variables predictive of death. Results. - Between April 2014 and January 2018, 351 patients with a definite diagnosis of left sided IE were included. Ninety-four patients (26.8%) presented with at least one neurological complication. Fifty-nine patients (17.7%) died during 6-month follow-up. Six-month mortality rates did not differ significantly between patients with and without neurological complications (P = 0.60). Forty patients had a temporary surgical contraindication because of neurological complications. During the period of surgical contraindication, seven of these patients (17.5%) died, six (15.0%) presented a new embolic event, and 12 (30.0%) presented cardiac or septic deterioration. In multivariable analysis, predictive factors of death in patients presenting with neurological complications were temporary surgical contraindication (hazard ratio 7.36, 95% confidence interval 1.61-33.67; P = 0.010) and presence of a mechanical prosthetic valve (hazard ratio 16.40, 95% confidence interval 2.22-121.17; P = 0.006). Conclusions. - Patients with a temporary surgical contraindication due to neurological complications had a higher risk of death and frequent major complications while waiting for surgery. When indicated, the decision to postpone surgery in the early phase should be weighed against the risk of infectious or cardiac deterioration. (c) 2021 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

BACKGROUND:18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) has recently been added as a major criterion in the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 2015 infective endocarditis guidelines. PET/CT is currently used in patients with suspected prosthetic valve and cardiac device-related endocarditis. However, the value of the ESC classification and the clinical impact of PET findings are unknown in patients with native valve endocarditis (NVE).AIMS:Our aims were: to assess the value of the ESC criteria (including PET/CT) in NVE; to determine the usefulness of PET/CT concerning embolic detection; and to describe a new PET/CT feature (diffuse splenic uptake).METHODS:Between 2012 and 2017, 75 patients with suspected NVE were included prospectively, after exclusion of patients with uninterpretable or unfeasible PET/CT. Using gold standard expert consensus, 63 cases of infective endocarditis were confirmed and 12 were rejected.RESULTS:Significant valvular uptake was observed in 11 of 63 patients with definite NVE and in no patients who had the diagnosis of infective endocarditis rejected (sensitivity 17.5%, specificity 100%). Among the 63 patients with NVE, a peripheral embolism or mycotic aneurysm was observed in 20 (31.7%) cases. Application of the ESC criteria increased Duke criteria sensitivity from 63.5% to 69.8% (P<0.001), without a change in specificity. Diffuse splenic uptake was observed in 39 (52.0%) patients, including 37 (58.7%) with a final diagnosis of NVE (specificity 83.3%).CONCLUSIONS:18F-FDG PET/CT has poor sensitivity but high specificity in the diagnosis of NVE. The usefulness of 18F-FDG PET/CT is high for embolic detection. Diffuse splenic uptake represents a possible new diagnostic criterion for NVE.

Among 275 patients with COVID-19, we found that median blood zinc level was significantly lower in patients with poor clinical outcome (N = 75) as compared to patients with good clinical outcome (N = 200) (840 μg/L versus 970 μg/L; p < 0.0001), suggesting that zinc supplementation could be useful for patients with severe COVID-19.

OBJECTIVES The primary objective was to assess the value of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) criteria, including F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-18-FDG-PET/CT) in prosthetic valve infective endocarditis (PVE). Secondary objectives were: 1) to assess the reproducibility of F-18-FDG-PET/CT; 2) to compare its diagnostic value with that of echocardiography; and 3) to assess the diagnostic value of the presence of a diffuse splenic uptake BACKGROUND F-18-FDG PET/CT has been added as a major criterion in the ESC 2015 infective endocarditis (IE) guidelines, but the benefit of the ESC criteria has not been prospectively compared with the conventional Duke criteria. METHODS Between 2014 and 2017, 175 patients with suspected PVE were prospectively included in 3 French centers. After exclusion of patients with uninterpretable F-18-FDG PET/CT, 115 patients were evaluated, including 91 definite and 24 rejected IE, as defined by an expert consensus. RESULTS Cardiac uptake by F-18-FDG PET/CT was observed in 67 of 91 patients with definite PVE and 6 with rejected IE (sensitivity 73.6% [95% confidence interval (CI): 63.3% to 82.3%], specificity 75% [95% CI: 53.3% to 90.2%]). The ESC 2015 classification increased the sensitivity of Duke criteria from 57.1% (95% CI: 46.3% to 67.5%) to 83.5% (95% CI: 74.3% to 90.5%) (p < 0.001), but decreased its specificity from 95.8% (95% CI: 78.9% to 99.9%) to 70.8% (95% CI: 48.9% to 87.4%). Intraobserver reproducibility of F-18-FDG PET/CT was good (kappa = 0.84) but interobserver reproducibility was less satisfactory (kappa = 0.63). A diffuse splenic uptake was observed in 24 (20.3%) patients, including 23 (25.3%) of definite PVE, and only 1 (4.2%) rejected PVE (p = 0.024). CONCLUSIONS F-18-FDG PET/CT is a useful diagnostic tool in suspected PVE, and explains the greater sensitivity of ESC criteria than Duke criteria. However, F-18-FDG PET/CT also presents with important limitations concerning its feasibility, specificity, and reproducibility. Our study describes for the first time a new endocarditis criterion, that is, the presence of a diffuse splenic uptake on F-18-FDG PET/CT. (C) 2020 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation.

Background:Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is an imaging technique largely used in the management of infective endocarditis and in the detection and staging of cancer. We evaluate our experience of incidental cancer detection by PET/CT during IE investigations and follow-up. Methods and Findings:Between 2009 and 2018, our center, which includes an "endocarditis team," managed 750 patients with IE in a prospective cohort. PET/CT became available in 2011 and was performed in 451 patients. Incidental diagnosis of cancer by PET/CT was observed in 36 patients and confirmed in 34 of them (7.5%) (colorectaln= 17; lungn= 7; lymphoman= 2; melanoman= 2; ovariann= 2; prostaten= 1; bladdern= 1; ear, nose, and throatn= 1; brainn= 1). A significant association has been found between colorectal cancer andStreptococcus gallolyticusand/orEnterococcus faecalis[12/26 vs. 6/33 for other cancers,p= 0.025, odds ratio = 3.86 (1.19-12.47)]. Two patients had a negative PET/CT (a colon cancer and a bladder cancer), and two patients, with positive PET/CT, had a benign colorectal tumor. PET/CT had a sensitivity of 94-100% for the diagnosis of cancer in this patient. Conclusions:Whole-body PET/CT confirmed the high incidence of cancer in patients with IE and could now be proposed in these cases.

The burden of antibiotic resistance is currently estimated by mathematical modeling, without real count of resistance to key antibiotics. Here we report the real rate of resistance to key antibiotics in bacteria isolated from humans during a 5 years period in a large area in southeast in France. We conducted a retrospective study on antibiotic susceptibility of 539,107 clinical strains isolated from hospital and private laboratories in south of France area from January 2014 to January 2019. The resistance rate to key antibiotics as well as the proportion of bacteria classified as Difficult-to-Treat (DTR) were determined and compared with the Mann–Whitney U test, the χ2 test or the Fisher’s exact test. Among 539,037 isolates, we did not observe any significant increase or decrease in resistance to key antibiotics for 5 years, (oxacillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus, carbapenem resistance in enterobacteria and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 3rd generation cephalosporin resistance in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae). However, we observed a significant decrease in imipenem resistance for Acinetobacter baumannii from 2014 to 2018 (24.19–12.27%; p = 0.005) and a significant increase of ceftriaxone resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae (9.9–24.03%; p = 0.001) and Enterobacter cloacae (24.05–42.05%; p = 0.004). Of these 539,037 isolates, 1604 (0.3%) had a DTR phenotype. Over a 5-year period, we did not observe a burden of AR in our region despite a high rate of antibiotic consumption in our country. These results highlight the need for implementation of real-time AR surveillance systems which use factual data.

The origin of a cholera outbreak may be unclear, as recently in Algeria. In two patients from North Africa, Vibrio cholerae was isolated in the context of hepatobiliary tract infections without any known outbreak. Gallbladder and asymptomatic long-term carriers might play a role in the emergence of cholera.

ObjectiveThe primary objective was to assess the characteristics and prognosis of pyogenic spondylodiscitis (PS) in patients with infective endocarditis (IE). The secondary objectives were to assess the factors associated with occurrence of PS.MethodsProspective case–control bi-centre study of 1755 patients with definite IE with (n=150) or without (n=1605) PS. Clinical, microbiological and prognostic variables were recorded.ResultsPatients with PS were older (mean age 69.7±18 vs 66.2±14; p=0.004) and had more arterial hypertension (48% vs 34.5%; p<0.001) and autoimmune disease (5% vs 2%; p=0.03) than patients without PS. The lumbar vertebrae were the most frequently involved (84 patients, 66%), especially L4–L5. Neurological symptoms were observed in 59% of patients. Enterococci and Streptococcus gallolyticus were more frequent (24% vs 12% and 24% vs 11%; p<0001, respectively) in the PS group. The diagnosis of PS was based on contrast-enhanced MRI in 92 patients, bone CT in 88 patients and 18F-FDG PET/CT in 56 patients. In-hospital (16% vs 13.5%, p=0.38) and 1-year (21% vs 22%, p=0.82) mortalities did not differ between patients with or without PS.ConclusionsPS is a frequent complication of IE (8.5% of IE), is observed in older hypertensive patients with enterococcal or S. gallolyticus IE, and has a similar prognosis than other forms of IE. Since PS is associated with specific management, multimodality imaging including MRI, CT and PET/CT should be used for early diagnosis of this complication of endocarditis.