{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T01:47:31Z","timestamp":1760147251077,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,19]],"date-time":"2023-01-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1674086400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Demographic changes have led to an increase in the proportion of older patients undergoing heart surgery. The number of endocarditis cases is also steadily increasing. Given the sharp increase in patients who have received valve prostheses or electrophysiological implants, who are on chronic dialysis or taking immunosuppressants, the interdependence of these two developments is quite obvious. We have studied the situation of older patients suffering from endocarditis compared to younger ones. Are they more susceptible, and are there differences in outcomes? Patients and Methods: A total of 162 patients was studied from our database, enrolled from 2020 to 2022. Fifty-four of them were older than 75 years of age (mean age 79.9 \u00b1 3.8 years). The remaining 108 patients had a mean age of 61.6 \u00b1 10.1 years. EuroSCORE II (ES II) was higher in the older patients (19.3 \u00b1 19.7) than in the younger ones (13.2 \u00b1 16.84). The BMI was almost identical. The preoperative NYHA proportions did not differ. A statistical analysis was performed using R. Results: Older patients had a lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), a higher proportion of coronary heart disease (CHD), a higher amount of N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptides (NT-proBNPs), worse coagulation function, worse renal function than younger patients, and were more often valve prosthesis carriers compared to the younger patients. The diagnostic interval was 66.85 \u00b1 49.53 days in the younger cohort, whereas it was only 50.98 \u00b1 30.55 in the elderly (p = 0.081). Significantly fewer septic emboli were observed in the older patients than in the younger patients, but postoperative delirium and critical illness polyneuropathy and critical illness myopathy (CIP\/CIM) were observed significantly more frequently compared to younger patients. In-hospital mortality was higher in older patients than in younger patients, but did not reach statistical significance (29.91% vs. 40.38%; p = 0.256). The postoperative clinical status was worse in older patients than in the younger ones (NYHA-stage, p = 0.022). Conclusions: Age did have an impact on the outcome, probably due to causing a higher number of cumulative preoperative risk factors. However, an interesting phenomenon was that older patients had fewer septic emboli than younger patients. It can only be speculated whether this was due to a shorter diagnostic interval or lower mobility, i.e., physical exertion. Older patients suffered more frequently than younger ones from typical age-related postoperative complications, such as delirium and CIP\/CIM. In-hospital mortality was high, but not significantly higher compared to the younger patients. Considering the acceptable mortality risks, and in light of the lack of alternatives, older patients should not be denied surgery. However, individual consideration is necessary.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm12030822","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,20]],"date-time":"2023-01-20T02:52:21Z","timestamp":1674183141000},"page":"822","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Does Age Influence the Preoperative Condition and, Thus, the Outcome in Endocarditis Patients?"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Roya","family":"Ostovar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Heart Center Brandenburg, University Hospital Brandenburg Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, 16321 Bernau, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Farzaneh Seifi","family":"Zinab","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiac Surgery, Sana-Heart Center Cottbus, 03048 Cottbus, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9625-3066","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Filip","family":"Schr\u00f6ter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Heart Center Brandenburg, University Hospital Brandenburg Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, 16321 Bernau, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1889-6039","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Martin","family":"Hartrumpf","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Heart Center Brandenburg, University Hospital Brandenburg Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, 16321 Bernau, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dirk","family":"Fritzsche","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiac Surgery, Sana-Heart Center Cottbus, 03048 Cottbus, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4722-3896","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Johannes Maximilian","family":"Albes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Heart Center Brandenburg, University Hospital Brandenburg Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, 16321 Bernau, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"12","article-title":"Endocarditis: Who Is Particularly at Risk and Why? 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