Role of Multiplex PCR in Early Diagnosis of Infective Endocarditis

Abstract

nfective endocarditis (IE), is considered a serious infection of the endocardium of the heart, and the heart valves. It is usually associated with a high degree of illness and death. IE is usually caused by a variety of bacteria and fungi. The conventional blood culture methods have a lot of false-negative results in addition to time consuming disadvantage. PCR is a rapid diagnostic tole that helps in saving the patients’ life. PCR is sensitive to small amounts of pathogen’s DNA and can directly detect it in blood samples within 3–6 hours, thus supporting treatment subsequently. The aim of the study is to determine the added value of multiplex PCR to conventional blood culture in early diagnosis of infective endocarditis & to investigate the feasibility of multiplex PCR in the early diagnosis of IE in comparison with conventional blood culture in addition to evaluate its impact on IE diagnosis in cases of negative blood cultures. The study was conducted on 30 patients diagnosed clinically by modified Duke’s criteria as Infective Endocarditis admitted to the Cardiology Department. 12 millilitres of venous blood were taken from each patient under complete aseptic conditions, 10 millilitres were used for blood culture and two millilitres were inoculated into EDTA treated tubes then stored at -80°C for PCR. Multiplex PCR showed a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 68% regarding blood culture as the gold standard for diagnosis of infective endocarditis.