Inflammatory Mediator Profiles During Heart Valve Replacement Surgery

The study aims at the comparative examination of pre-, intra- and post-operative release profiles of inflammatory and vasoactive mediators in patients undergoing heart valve surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) due to either infectious endocarditis or degenerative valvular heart disease. Specific attention will focus on the distinction between mediator release associated with infection and that resulting from CPB. Concomitantly identification and characterization of infectious pathogens in the circulation and in valvular samples will be carried out, together with the search for resistance-coding transcripts.