Ugeskr Læger 2020;182:V01200061

Anja Jørgensen, Kasper Karmark Iversen, Troels Lillebæk, Åse Bengård Andersen, Christina Kruuse, Emil Fosbøl, Henning Bundgaard & Christian Søborg

Infection with Mycobacterium chimaera has globally been linked to cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass devices with contaminated heater-cooler units (HCU). This is a case report of M. chimaera infection linked to HCU in Denmark in which we show, how difficult the diagnosis can be. A 67-year-old man had an aortic graft and valvular replacement using HCU. Post-operatively he developed progressing symptoms of intermittent fever, malaise and endocarditis with septic embolic events, and despite extensive diagnostic work-up, he remained undiagnosed for 16 months following surgery.