POSTOPERATIVE INFECTIONS TRACED TO CONTAMINATION OF AN INTRAVENOUS ANESTHETIC, PROPOFOL

Background Between June 1990 and February 1993, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted investigations at seven hospitals because of unusual outbreaks of bloodstream infections, surgical-site infections, and acute febrile episodes after surgical procedures. Methods We conducted case–control or cohort studies, or both, to identify risk factors. A case patient was defined as any patient who had an organism-specific infection or acute febrile episode after a surgical procedure during the study period in that hospital. The investigations also included reviews of procedures, cultures, and microbiologic studies of infecting, contaminating, and colonizing strains. Results Sixty-two case patients were identified, 49 (79 percent) of whom underwent surgery during an epidemic period. Postoperative complications were more frequent during the epidemic period than before it. Only exposure to propofol, a lipid-based anesthetic agent, was significantly associated with the postoperative complications at a...