A literature review evaluating the differences in mortality rates in urban versus rural patients with infective endocarditis in the United States of America
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Date
2024-05-15
Authors
Bosc, Pierre
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Abstract
Introduction: Over the last two decades, the prevalence of infective endocarditis in the United States of
America has increased. This has been largely due to the increased life expectancy, increased rate of
cardiac surgeries and the intravenous drug-use epidemic. Overall, the mortality rates related to infective
endocarditis are decreasing. However, there are no literature reviews assessing mortality rate differences
between urban and rural patients with infective endocarditis.
Objective: Review the literature to identify any differences in mortality rates between urban and rural
patients with infective endocarditis in the United States of America, between 1999 and 2019.
Methods: A PubMed database search was conducted using key terms “infective endocarditis”, “rural”,
“non-urban” and “urban”. Filtering for “humans” and “publication within the last 10 years”, yielded 69
results, three of which were appropriate for inclusion in the study. Two other studies were obtained from
a search on Google Scholar.
Results: Despite an inconsistency in definitions for terms “urban” and “rural”, the literature suggests
there is a slightly higher mortality rate in rural compared to urban patients with infective endocarditis in
the United States of America between 1999 and 2019. Furthermore, there appears to be an increasing
mortality rate in rural patients with infective endocarditis, compared to a declining mortality rate in urban
patients with infective endocarditis.
Conclusion: The results from this literature review suggest a slightly higher mortality rate in rural
compared to urban patients with infective endocarditis, but further research is needed to determine the
cause of these differences.