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Mycobacterium chimaera left ventricular assist device infections
Author(s) -
Balsam Leora B.,
Louie Eddie,
Hill Fred,
Levine Jamie,
Phillips Michael S.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of cardiac surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.428
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1540-8191
pISSN - 0886-0440
DOI - 10.1111/jocs.13150
Subject(s) - medicine , mycobacterium infections , mycobacterium , surgery , population , cardiology , pathology , tuberculosis , environmental health
A global outbreak of invasive Mycobacterium chimaera infections after cardiac surgery has recently been linked to bioaerosols from contaminated heater‐cooler units. The majority of cases have occurred after valvular surgery or aortic graft surgery and nearly half have resulted in death. To date, infections in patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have not been characterized in the literature. We report two cases of device‐associated M. chimaera infection in patients with continuous‐flow LVADs and describe challenges related to diagnosis and management in this population.