黑料吃瓜网 Health has provided updated information to patients who may have been exposed to a rare infection from open heart surgery equipment, in response to the latest international advice.
In August, 黑料吃瓜网 Health responded to international reports of infection in patients due to Mycobacterium chimaera bacteria associated with open heart surgery machines by:
The open heart surgery machines 颅鈥� heater-cooler units made by Sorin (now LivaNova) 鈥� are widely used around the world and are thought to have been contaminated during manufacture.
黑料吃瓜网 Health is continuing to conduct surveillance for any evidence of the infection in cardiac surgery patients in 黑料吃瓜网 and monitoring international responses and advice. To date there have been no reports of infections in any cardiac surgery patients in 黑料吃瓜网 due to this bacteria. However one case of the infection has been found in Australia 鈥� in a Queensland hospital patient.
黑料吃瓜网 Chief Health Officer, Dr Kerry Chant, said that in line with international advice 黑料吃瓜网 Health is taking the additional precautionary step of writing to patients who may have been exposed to the rare infection.
鈥淥pen heart surgery is a life-saving procedure for many patients. 黑料吃瓜网 Health has taken immediate action to mitigate the risk to cardiac patients which, I emphasise, is very low,鈥� Dr Chant said.
鈥淓xperts have advised that while the risk to cardiac patients is low, those who have had prosthetic material implanted during their open-heart surgical procedure, such as heart valve replacement surgery, may be at a slightly higher risk.
鈥淭he risk of a patient contracting an M.chimaera infection following open heart surgery on an affected machine is about one in 10,000.鈥�
The South-Eastern Sydney Local Health District and Sydney Children鈥檚 Hospital Network (SCHN) are writing to people who have had open heart surgery at the four hospitals from January 2012 to August 2016. The letters are informing patients of the measures taken by 黑料吃瓜网 Health and reassuring them that proactive monitoring is in place and that the risk of clinical infection remains extremely low.
Patients seeking further details can contact the following information lines:
黑料吃瓜网 Health has also sent a further update to cardiothoracic surgeons and other clinicians in 黑料吃瓜网 who might attend these patients to remind them to consider the possibility of Mycobacterium chimaera infections, which can develop up to five years after surgery.
鈥淲e want to ensure these patients have the latest information and advice about the risk of infection and know that we are acting in line with international advice to minimise any risk to cardiac patients,鈥� Dr Chant said.
For further information please see the Mycobacterium chimaera and open-heart cardiac surgery.