A Prospective Multi-Institutional Cohort Study of Mediastinal Infections After Cardiac Operations [1]
The authors participated in a multi-institutional prospective study to evaluate the frequency, risk factors, and outcomes of patients who suffer mediastinal infection after cardiac surgery. A total of 5,158 patients were enrolled, and there were 43 infections in 41 patients (0.79 cumulative incidence) occurring at a median time of 20 days after surgery. The authors discovered the following risk factors for the development of mediastinitis:
- higher body mass index
- higher creatinine
- peripheral vascular disease
- preoperative steroids
- ventricular assist device or transplant surgery
- postoperative hyperglycemia in nondiabetics
Readmission rates and mortality were five times higher in patients who developed mediastinitis.