This post provides a briefing on the current status of the Mycobacterium chimaera issue related to heater-cooler units (HCUs) used in cardiothoracic surgery. You can download some accompanying slides here. Also, I found this recent ICHE review on the subject very helpful to bring me up to speed.
HCU
The silent Mycobacterium chimaera epidemic
There has been much discussion about the risk of Mycobacterium chimaera infections associated with contaminated heater-cooler units (HCUs) used in cardiothoracic surgery. A study published recently in CID explores the risk in the UK, and provides further evidence to link these tricky-to-treat infections to contaminated HCUs.
