Postoperative bacteremias in cardiac surgical patients

Objective. To determine the frequency of bacteremias, the spectrum of their pathogens, and mortality rates among patients following cardiac surgery. Subjects and methods. Bacteremias after 8292 cardiac operations made over 13 years from 2000 to 2012 were retrospectively analyzed. The pathogens of bacteremia were identified using the BD Crystal panels and the BBL Crystal MIND database; microbial susceptibility to antibiotics was determined by the disk diffusion method in accordance with the NCCLS standards (USA). Results. The frequency of bacteremia decreased during the study period from 6.8% in 2000-2004 to 3.6% in 2010-2012. Bacteremias constituted the bulk (77.8-80.4%) of postoperative infectious complications (PIC). The frequency of isolation of gram-positive and gram-negative microbes and the severity of PIC were characterized. In bacteremias, the blood spectrum showed a preponderance of coagulase-negative staphylococci with the overall predominance of the gram-positive microflora. Its resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics and the multiple resistance of nonfermenting microbes to antibodies, except for polymyxin, tygacil, cefepin, and sulperazol, were noted.

bacteremia, postoperative infectious complications, cardiac surgery, mortality