But they said the bacterium can cause infection in people who undergo surgery or have a weakened immune system. At WellSpan York Hospital, this infection has been identified in less than 1 percent of patients who had open-heart surgery during this period.
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York Hospital in Pennsylvania warns patients of a possible infection risk. “We are committed to ensuring our patients have all the information, care and treatment they need regarding this issue”.
More information is available from WellSpan York Hospital by calling their 24-hour nurse call center toll-free at 1-866-217-2970 or by visiting www.wellspan.org/yorkopenheart.
The hospital said that patients who had other, noninvasive heart procedures such as stents, pacemakers, defibrillators and ablations, are not at risk.
Thankfully, NTM is non-contagious and can be successfully treated once it is identified. “Our top priority is always to protect the health of patients and the general public”. “That is why we took this very seriously and immediately notified state and federal health officials and requested their assistance and guidance”.
The European study indicated that the bacteria could pose a risk to patients who are on heart bypass machines with heater-cooler devices during surgery.
Eight patients and possibly more who underwent open-heart surgery at a hospital in Pennsylvania developed an infection from a device used during the surgery.
Symptoms of the infection includes fever, redness, heat and pus at an incision site, and joint and muscle pain.
The company said the patients who died had complex conditions and their deaths hadn’t been directly linked to the infection, but it was “likely a contributing factor”.
The hospital directly contacted the eight patients known to be affected or their families last week, and Perz said WellSpan has prepared itself well.
WellSpan York Hospital said Monday it was notifying about 1,300 current and former patients of possible exposure to potentially harmful bacteria during open-heart surgeries performed over almost four years, from October 1, 2011, to July 24, 2015.
York Hospital is notifying the 1,300 patients and advising them to go to their doctor if they believe they might have symptoms.
They were issued as part of a safety communication from the FDA this month because the problem may be more widespread. It said, “The new equipment is being meticulously maintained according to the enhanced cleaning procedures”. “Patients can have full confidence that the hospital fully complies with the highest standards of disinfection and maintenance”.
The Department of Health required the hospital to replace the devices immediately because of the potential connection between the infection and the devices, which WellSpan admitted its hospital did not clean according to original manufacturer guidelines. European hospitals have also reported infections tied to the heater-cooler devices.
Officials say the devices in question were sent to the CDC for further investigation.
WellSpan contacted the state Department of Health and the CDC on July 20.
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It found a risk of infection through the bacteria escaping from the heater-cooler devices that are used during open-heart surgery, according to the release. “York is a microcosm of what’s going on in our country”, said Muscarella, who added that much of his research has involved the use of tap water in hospitals.
