• Edda Vesteinsdottir, Kristjan Orri Helgason, Kristinn Orn Sverrisson, Olafur Gudlaugsson, and Sigurbergur Karason.
• Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
• Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 2019 Aug 1; 63 (7): 871-878.

BackgroundInfections are a frequent complication of cardiac surgery. The intraoperative use of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) may be an underrecognized risk factor for post-operative infections. The aim of this study was to investigate infection rates and outcomes after cardiac surgery in a nationwide cohort, especially in relation to periods where surface damaged TEE probes were used.MethodsThis was a retrospective, observational study at Landspitali University Hospital. All consecutive cardiac surgery patients from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2017 were included. Patients' charts were reviewed for evidence of infection, post-operative complications or death.ResultsDuring the study period, 973 patients underwent cardiac surgery at Landspitali and 198 (20.3%) developed a post-operative infection. The most common infections were: Pneumonia (9.1%), superficial surgical site (5.7%), bloodstream (2.8%) and deep sternal wound (1.7%). Risk factors for developing an infection included: The duration of procedure, age, insulin-dependent diabetes, EuroScore II, reoperation for bleeding and an operation in a period with a surface damaged TEE probe in use. Twenty-two patients were infected with a multidrug resistant strain of Klebsiella oxytoca, 10 patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa and two patients developed endocarditis with Enterococcus faecalis. All three pathogens were cultured from the TEE probe in use at respective time, after decontamination. The 30-day mortality rate in the patient cohort was 3.2%.ConclusionsThe intraoperative use of surface damaged TEE probes caused two serious infection outbreaks in patients after cardiac surgery. TEE probes need careful visual inspection during decontamination and probe sheaths are recommended.© 2019 The Authors. Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation.

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