Multi-organ failure is one of the leading causes of mortality after cardiac surgery for infective endocarditis (IE). Although the randomized evidence does not support the use of haemoadsorption during cardiac surgery for IE, observational studies suggest a beneficial effect in selected patient groups. Staphylococcus aureus is the most common pathogen, and its presence is an independent mortality predictor. We aimed to analyse the effect of haemoadsorption in patients with IE caused by S. aureus.

This is a post hoc analysis of the REMOVE trial that randomized 288 patients with IE who underwent cardiac surgery with haemoadsorption using CytoSorb^® or control. The primary outcome was ΔSequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA), defined as the difference between the mean total postoperative and baseline SOFA score within 24 h of surgery.

Among the total of 282 patients included in the modified intention-to-treat analysis of the REMOVE trial, 73 (25.9%) had S. aureus IE (38 patients in the haemoadsorption group and 35 patients in the control group). The overall ΔSOFA did not differ between the intervention groups in patients with S. aureus IE (mead difference = −0.4, 95% confidence interval −2.3 to 1.4, P = 0.66) and neither did 30-day mortality (hazard ratios = 1.32, 95% confidence interval 0.53–3.28, P = 0.55). No differences were observed with regard to any of the other secondary outcomes.

Based on a post hoc analysis from REMOVE trial, the intraoperative use of haemoadsorption in patients with S. aureus IE was not associated with reduction of postoperative organ dysfunction, 30-day mortality or other major clinical end points.