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Background: In a recent clinical trial, aspirin therapy was initiated approximately 34 days after the onset of symptoms but did not reduce the risk of embolism in patients with endocarditis. However, it is possible that aspirin used early in the course of the disease may be beneficial. The purpose of the study is to assess the effect of long-term daily aspirin use on the risk of embolic events in patients with infective endocarditis., Methods: The clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients excluded from the Multi-Centre Aspirin Trial in Infective Endocarditis because of long-term aspirin use (n = 84) were compared with the data for patients randomized to the placebo arm (n = 55). The former patients took aspirin before and during the early stages of infective endocarditis, whereas the latter patients were not exposed to aspirin before and during the entire hospitalization. Logistic modeling was used to assess the effect of long-term aspirin use on embolism and bleeding., Results: There was a trend toward excess bleeding in long-term aspirin recipients, compared with placebo recipients (P = .065). Logistic modeling revealed that long-term aspirin use may be associated with excess bleeding (unadjusted odds ratio, 2.35 [P = .059]; adjusted odds ratio, 2.08 [P = .118]), but it had no impact on the risk of embolic events in either model., Conclusions: In patients with endocarditis, long-term daily use of aspirin does not reduce the risk of embolic events but may be associated with a higher risk of bleeding. In the acute phase of endocarditis, aspirin should be used with caution.

Objectives: This study examined the effect of aspirin on the risk of embolic events in infective endocarditis (IE)., Background: Embolism is a major complication of IE, and studies in animal models have shown that platelet inhibition with aspirin can lead to more rapid vegetation resolution and a lower rate of embolic events., Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of aspirin treatment (325 mg/day) for four weeks in patients with IE to test the hypothesis that the addition of aspirin would reduce the incidence of clinical systemic embolic events. Patients with perivalvular abscess were excluded. Serial cerebral computed tomograms and transesophageal echocardiograms were obtained in a subset of patients., Results: During the four-year study period, 115 patients were enrolled: 60 assigned to aspirin and 55 assigned to placebo. Embolic events occurred in 17 patients (28.3%) on aspirin and 11 patients (20.0%) on placebo, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.62 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.68 to 3.86, p = 0.29). There was a trend toward a higher incidence of bleeding in the patients taking aspirin versus placebo (OR 1.92, 95% CI 0.76 to 4.86, p = 0.075). Development of new intracranial lesions was similar in both groups. Aspirin had no effect on vegetation resolution and valvular dysfunction., Conclusions: In endocarditis patients already receiving antibiotic treatment, the addition of aspirin does not appear to reduce the risk of embolic events and is likely associated with an increased risk of bleeding. Aspirin is not indicated in the early management of patients with IE.