Heater-cooler devices linked to Mycobacterium chimaera outbreak

Editor's Note

A global outbreak of Mycobacterium chimaera has been linked to heater-cooler devices used in cardiac surgery, this study finds.

Investigators found M chimaera in heater-cooler device water circuits and air samples while the devices were running, suggesting airborne transmission from the device to the surgical site.

New heater-cooler devices at the manufacturing site also were contaminated with M chimaera.

It is not yet known whether eradication of M chimaera from a contaminated device can be achieved. Strict separation of the heater-cooler device from OR air is necessary.

Mycobacterium chimaera Outbreak Associated With Heater-Cooler Devices: Piecing the Puzzle Together - Rami Sommerstein, Peter W. Schreiber, Daniel J. Diekema, Michael B. Edmond, Barbara Hasse, Jonas Marschall, Hugo Sax