Mediastinitis after cardiac surgery - Epidemiology and current treatment

Mediastinal infection is a feared complication observed after 0.4%-5% of ca rdiac operations. Even today the mortality remains as high as 20%-40%. We d iscuss the aetiology, mechanisms, prevention, diagnosis, and medical manage ment. The staging system for mediastinal wound infections developed at a jo int conference of German cardiac surgical centres is presented. The use of parenteral polyvalent immunoglobulins is also discussed.