Sick Kids Hospital identifies case of infection linked to heart surgery

Toronto’s Sick Kids Hospital is advising former heart surgery patients about a single case of a bacterial infection likely linked to a device used during cardiovascular surgery between December 2013 and 2016.

The non-tuberculous Mycobacterium chimaera infection has been associated with a device used to heat and cool the blood during heart surgery.

Sick Kids started using the heater-cooler units in December 2013, but changed how they were implemented in 2016, based on recommendations from Health Canada and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Families of children who may have been exposed to the bacterium during heart surgery have been notified of the risk and what signs and symptoms to watch for. The CDC estimates the chances of getting the infection at less than one per cent.