Incidence and morbidity of cytomegaloviral infection in patients with mediastinitis following cardiac surgery.

To determine the incidence and morbidity of infections with CMV associated with mediastinitis after conventional cardiac surgery, 115 consecutive adult patients with mediastinitis were evaluated with viral cultures of blood and urine. Shedding of CMV was seen in 29 patients (25 percent) within a mean period of 37 +/- 22 days after cardiopulmonary bypass. Viremia was documented in 79 percent (23) of these 29 patients. Acute renal failure and enzymatic abnormalities (AST and LDH) were significantly more common in patients with virologically proven infection with CMV (p less than 0.05). In patients who survived the initial period of bacterial infection, major differences in their clinical course were observed according to their virologic status. After the 15th day of hospitalization following the débridement, the persistence of local infection was more frequent (p less than 0.05) and the mortality was higher (p less than 0.01) in CMV-infected patients. Moreover, the mean duration of hospitalization in the ICU for survivors was 69 +/- 36 days in viral shedders, compared with 48 +/- 27 days in nonshedders (p less than 0.05). Infection with CMV in mediastinitis occurs frequently and is associated with persistence of local infection, prolonged hospitalization, and increased late mortality.