Infective endocarditis (IE) is now a relatively rare but worldwide disease (3-10 IE/100000 population/year) with increasing incidence especially in the Western world. IE is still associated with high morbidity and mortality, prolonged hospital stay, high risk of reinfection, significantly worsened prognosis for patients, substantially reduced quality of life, and in any case represents a major financial burden for the respective healthcare systems \[1-11\].
Patients who need to undergo cardiac surgery due to infective endocarditis (IE) are heterogeneous and present with a persistently high perioperative morbidity and mortality rate. Despite optimal and individualized perioperative management strategies, perioperative complications such as heart failure, systemic inflammatory response, vasoplegia, and sepsis is still the main reason for adverse outcomes following cardiac surgery.
The present European, multicenter IE registry (Surgical RegistRy of infective ENDocarditis in EuRope - SURRENDER) was initiated and established to record and appropriately analyze current surgical treatment options and perioperative adjunctive treatment strategies, as well as short- and long-term patient outcomes.
