In October, the CDC warned hospitals that a device manufactured by LivaNova — the Stöckert 3T heater-cooler device — was spreading bacterial infections to patients. Officials urged hospitals that use the device to alert potentially affected patients.
The following is a list of seven hospitals that have issued warnings to their patients about the risk of nontuberculous mycobacterium infections linked to the device, which is used during open-heart surgery. Some of these hospitals issued warnings prior to the CDC's announcement, as problems first surfaced in late 2015.
1. In October 2015, WellSpan York (Pa.) Hospital notified about 1,300 open-heart surgery patients. As of September 2016, 12 York Hospital patients contracted NTM infections.
2. In November 2015, Penn State Hershey Medical Center contacted about 2,300 open-heart surgery patients. Three hospital patients acquired NTM infections.
3. In August 2016, Mercy Medical Center-Des Moines (Iowa) notified about 2,600 patients who underwent open-heart surgery. At the time, two patients had been diagnosed with NTM infections.
4. In September 2016, Penn Medicine sent letters to hundreds of patients warning them of infection risk. Three patients at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia contracted NTM infections.
5. In November 2016, Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., began notifying 17,000 open-heart surgery patients that they may be at risk of infection. One patient at the Rochester campus contracted an NTM infection.
6. In December 2016, Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., started notifying roughly 1,500 to 1,800 cardiac patients of infection risk. As of Dec. 8, no hospital patients had a confirmed or suspected infection.
7. In December 2016, St. Francis Hospital & Medical Center in Hartford, Conn., notified approximately 3,000 open-heart surgery patients of infection risk. None of the hospital's patients had a confirmed or suspected infection as of Dec. 9.