Tricuspid valve surgery for acute infective endocarditis can be performed with very low operative mortality

Objective: Tricuspid valve surgery historically has been perceived as having elevated operative risk, prompting the recent development of transcatheter therapies including aspiration vegetectomy for endocarditis. The opioid epidemic has exacerbated tricuspid valve endocarditis, particularly in people who inject drugs. We sought to evaluate contemporary outcomes of tricuspid valve surgery in real-world practice.

Methods: An institutional multidisciplinary endocarditis database inclusive of clinical, microbiologic, and echocardiographic data was analyzed for those undergoing isolated or concomitant tricuspid valve surgery for acute active endocarditis. Consecutive patients between 2016 and 2021 were followed for longitudinal outcomes.

Results: A total of 283 patients with tricuspid valve endocarditis underwent tricuspid valve repair (n = 137, 48.4%) or replacement (n = 146, 51.6%). Median age was 31 (27-37) years, 63.1% were female, and 257 (90.8%) were active people who inject drugs. The leading indications for surgery were severe valvular insufficiency (71.2%), vegetation size greater than 2 cm (51.3%), or septic shock (23.3%). Concomitant procedures were performed in 44 patients (15.5%). In patients who underwent isolated tricuspid valve surgery (n = 239), no patient required permanent pacemaker after tricuspid valve repair, whereas 13.3% required permanent pacemaker after tricuspid valve replacement. Overall and isolated tricuspid valve surgery operative mortality were 1.8% and 1.3%, respectively. Overall and isolated tricuspid valve surgery 1-year survivals were 89.3% and 89.7%, respectively.

Conclusions: Tricuspid valve surgery for endocarditis has low operative mortality. When feasible, repair is preferred over replacement. In an era of promulgation of investigational therapies, heart teams should note that tricuspid valve surgery is low risk and remains the first-line beyond antibiotics.