Doctors at the Mayo Clinic have pioneered a new approach to treat stubborn heart infections without the need for surgery.
Using a catheter-based technique, they successfully removed pockets of infection that had formed on the heart, specifically in cases of right-sided infective endocarditis.
If left untreated, these tough-to-reach infections can expand, potentially damaging heart valves and impacting other organs.
The results were promising: over 90% of patients in the study cleared the infection and had lower rates of in-hospital death than those who did not clear the infection.
This new method was tested in a study led by the Mayo Clinic and involved 19 medical centers across the U.S. The patients selected for this trial were those who couldn’t undergo surgery safely and whose infections hadn’t responded to antibiotics alone.
Dr. Abdallah El Sabbagh, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, headed the study and presented the findings at a recent cardiology conference.
According to Dr. El Sabbagh, the catheter-based approach could be a game-changer for patients at high risk, such as those with weakened immune systems, recent transplant recipients, cancer patients, IV drug users, and people with implanted heart devices like pacemakers.
Infective endocarditis is a serious infection that affects the heart valves. For high-risk patients, such as those with compromised immune systems or chronic health issues, there are limited treatment options if the infection does not respond to antibiotics.
Surgical removal of the infection is an option, but many of these patients are too fragile to undergo open heart surgery. Nearly half of the 285 participants in the Mayo Clinic study were IV drug users, a group particularly prone to developing heart infections.
This catheter method is less invasive than surgery. A thin tube, or catheter, is inserted into the body and guided to the site of infection, where it acts like a small vacuum, pulling out the infected material.
Originally, this catheter system was developed to remove blood clots from the lungs without surgery. While using it to treat heart infections is an off-label application, the results of this study show it may be a safe and effective alternative.
Dr. El Sabbagh noted that this method of directly removing the infection can make antibiotic treatments more effective afterward.
The study findings indicate that catheter-based aspiration, or removal, of the infection could benefit patients who don’t respond to antibiotics alone and face high risks with surgery. Many of the study participants saw positive results, with the majority clearing the infection and a reduced risk of hospital death.
Dr. El Sabbagh emphasized that while the results are promising, further studies are needed to confirm the long-term safety and effectiveness of this technique for right-sided infective endocarditis.
With continued research, this minimally invasive method could become a standard treatment option, offering hope to patients who have few other options.
If you care about heart disease, please read studies about a big cause of heart failure, and common blood test could advance heart failure treatment.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies about a new way to repair human heart, and results showing drinking coffee may help reduce heart failure risk.
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