Donor-to-recipient transmission of bacteria as an unusual cause of mediastinitis in a heart transplant recipient

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1999 Feb;20(2):132-3. doi: 10.1086/501603.

Abstract

We present a 54-year-old male heart transplant recipient who developed mediastinitis caused by Klebsiella oxytoca and Veillonella species. Culture of the donor's bronchus also grew K. oxytoca and a Veillonella species. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis revealed that the K. oxytoca isolates had identical banding patterns. This case illustrates transmission of pathogenic bacteria via a contaminated organ.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Heart Transplantation / adverse effects*
  • Humans
  • Klebsiella / pathogenicity
  • Klebsiella Infections / transmission*
  • Male
  • Mediastinitis / microbiology*
  • Middle Aged
  • Postoperative Complications / microbiology
  • Tissue Donors
  • Veillonella / pathogenicity