Preoperative Increasing C-reactive Protein Affects the Outcome for Active Infective Endocarditis

Purpose: This study aimed to determine if preoperative time course changes in serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels can predict clinical outcome of surgical intervention for active infective endocarditis. Methods: Surgically treated patients (n = 109) with active infective endocarditis were reviewed retrospectively. We divided the patients into 2 subgroups according to preoperative transition of increasing or decreasing serum CRP levels, and performed a comparative study. The increasing CRP group included 29 patients and the decreasing CRP group included 80 patients. Results: There were more patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and New York Heart Association functional class IV in the increasing CRP group. Hospital mortality was signifi cantly higher in the increasing CRP group (34.5%) than that in the decreasing CRP group (5.0%) (p