Four dead after bacteria is spread by device used in surgery

Eight open-heart surgery patients at WellSpan York hospital have developed an infection from a medical device used during their surgery

Four of those infected have died though it is not clear whether the infection was the primary cause of their deaths.

 WellSpan York Hospital has notified approximately 1,300 open-heart surgery patients of the possible exposure to bacteria during open-heart surgery procedures performed between 1 October 2011 and 24 July 2015.

According to American federal health authorities the nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) is not a typically harmful bacterium but in some rare cases can cause infections in patients who have had invasive healthcare procedures.

A study published in July 2015 in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, based on evidence from patient cases in Europe, indicated that NTM could pose a risk to patients who are on heart bypass machines with heater-cooler devices during surgery.

A short time after the study was published, WellSpan York Hospital staff became aware of several surgery patients with NTM infections of the type identified in the study.

Hospital staff worked with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Department of Health (DoH) to conduct a review of the hospital’s open-heart surgery cases to confirm the source of the bacteria and take preventive steps to protect patient health.

Hal Baker, WellSpan Health’s senior vice president for clinical improvement, said: “Based on our joint investigation the CDC determined that the NTM infections identified in our patients are likely linked to the heater-cooler devices.”

WellSpan York Hospital has now completely replaced its heater-cooler devices with new equipment.

Keith Noll, senior vice president of WellSpan Health, and president of WellSpan York Hospital, said: “The safety, health and well-being of our patients is always our highest priority.

“That is why we took this very seriously and immediately notified state and federal health officials and requested their assistance and guidance.”