Dr Matthaios PAPADIMITRIOU-OLIVGERIS

An extensive clinical experience across various countries and settings, combined with a Ph.D. in infectious diseases in critically-ill patients, has enabled my team to spearhead multicenter projects on pressing topics.

Infective endocarditis

Early identification of infective endocarditis is crucial for improving outcomes. In 1994, the Duke criteria were introduced to standardize the diagnosis of infective endocarditis for research purposes. These criteria have undergone multiple revisions and are now widely used in clinical practice. While newer versions of the Duke criteria have shown significant improvements in sensitivity compared to earlier versions, all iterations still share a common limitation: approximately one-third of cases are classified as possible infective endocarditis, requiring clinical evaluation to determine whether to treat these cases as infective endocarditis or not. Building on the innovative design of Lausanne’s Endocarditis Cohort, which includes all patients with clinical suspicion of infective endocarditis regardless of final diagnosis, a multicenter prospective Swiss study on patients with suspected infective endocarditis (PROSECCO: The PRospective Swiss EndoCarditis COhort and Platform) was initiated. This project aims to evaluate the performance of newer versions of the Duke criteria and, with the assistance of artificial intelligence, develop a new scoring system for diagnosing infective endocarditis.

Bacteraemia/candidaemia

Bacteraemia and candidaemia are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Early management, including infectious diseases consultation, appropriate antimicrobial treatment, and source control, is crucial to improve outcomes. Our cohort aims to investigate the association between bacteraemia and infection of prosthetic material, such as prosthetic joints, and to identify predictors of mortality of either bacteraemia or candidaemia. We specifically focus on assessing the impact of the aforementioned early interventions on outcomes.

Antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance is a topic of significant concern, recognized by the World Health Organization as one of the foremost issues in public health. In our project focusing on critically ill patients, we explore the factors associated with colonization or infection by multidrug-resistant pathogens, as well as predictors of mortality in bloodstream infections caused by these pathogens.