Discussions in Infection Control

An independent site by Lawrence F Muscarella PhD -- a national authority on the causes and prevention of healthcare-associated infections and related errors.

Category: Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (“NTM”)

CardioQuip Cincinnati Sub Zero Greenville Memorial Hospital Heater-Cooler Devices Hershey Medical Center Legionella LivaNova (formerly Sorin Group) Maquet Mycobacterium abscessus Mycobacterium chimaera PENN Medicine Penn Presbyterian Medical Center Terumo University of Washington Medical Center Wellspan York Hospital

A Less Commonly Used Heater-Cooler Device Also Linked To Mycobacterial Infections Regulatory reports link a different heater-cooler model, one that was the subject of a consent decree, to M. abscessus infections.

January 17, 2017 Lawrence F Muscarella PhD

January 17, 2017 — Two Pennsylvania hospitals in the fall of 2015 publicly linked infections of mycobacteria to the Stockert 3T Heater-Cooler device — yet a less commonly used heater-cooler…

Cardiopulmonary Bypass Cardiopulmonary Perfusion Machine Greenville Memorial Hospital Heater-Cooler Devices Hershey Medical Center Ice Dispensers Medical Device Reports (MDRs) Mycobacterium abscessus Mycobacterium chimaera Nontuberculous Mycobacteria ("NTM") Wellspan York Hospital

Deadly Infections at a South Carolina Hospital in 2014: Was A Heater-Cooler Device To Blame? Previously undisclosed data confirm a direct association between the infections and a contaminated heater-cooler device.

October 3, 2016 Lawrence F Muscarella PhD

February 18, 2016 — A type of medical device recently linked to serious patient infections may have played a more significant role in a deadly hospital outbreak in South Carolina…

Cardiopulmonary Perfusion Machine Device Recalls Heater-Cooler Devices Hershey Medical Center Mycobacterium chimaera Nontuberculous Mycobacteria ("NTM") Wellspan York Hospital

At least 8 Patient Infections, 4 Patient Deaths Linked to a Mycobacterial Infection Following Surgery at Wellspan York Hospital Update: Now a 5th patient death has been linked to this outbreak.

November 5, 2015 Lawrence F Muscarella PhD

November 5, 2015 — A hospital in Pennsylvania announced last week that it had begun notifying 1,300 patients of their potential exposure to a deadly bacteria. So far, the hospital…

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