Invasive Mycobacterium chimaera Infections and Heater-Cooler Devices in Cardiac Surgery

摘要

We would like to thank Lamagni et al. ( ) for including additional cases from the period of 2008–2014 and for recalculating the UK cumulative incidence risk by matching our assessment. We agree that the observed 3 times higher risk in Switzerland of infection for a patient undergoing heart valve surgery cannot be explained unambiguously. The most likely explanation is indeed increased awareness of the risk in Switzerland compared with other countries, potentially improving likelihood of investigation for mycobacterial infection. We think that the early formation of a national and interdisciplinary working group ( Task Force), which included representatives of the involved (para-)medical disciplines, authorities, and professional associations, has contributed greatly to raising this awareness.