Table 3.

Management and Complications.

Management
Antibiotic treatment
Empiric therapy	6 (16%)
Absence of evident surgical indications	6 (16%)
Surgical interventions
Early surgery	22 (58%)
Conservative management with elective surgery	1 (3%)
Conservative management without surgery	15 (40%)
Indications for early surgery
Congestive heart failure >moderate	8
Persistent positive blood cultures after 1 week antibiotics	1
Recurrent emboli with persistent vegetation	1
Abscess formation	5
Dehiscence of the prosthesis	3
Size of vegetation >10 mm	8
Time interval from the diagnosis to the surgery, days#	2.0 (5.3)
Complications
Congestive heart failure	16 (42%)
Stroke	14 (37%)†
Systemic embolization	5 (13%)
Coronary artery	1 (3%)
Liver and spleen	4 (11%)
Lower extremities	1 (3%)
Persistent positive blood cultures	4 (11%)*
In-hospital mortality	10 (26%)
Cerebral embolism	2
Cerebral hemorrhage	1*
Renal failure	1
Pneumonia	4*
Congestive heart failure	1
Myocardial infarction	1

^*including one case after early surgery, ^†including one cerebral hemorrhage, ^#median value (interquartile range).