NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Mar 15 - Twenty-six cases of bacterial infections associated with musculoskeletal tissue allografts, including one fatal case, have been reported as of March 11th, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Writing in the March 15th issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, CDC investigators describes the case of a 23-year-old man who underwent reconstructive knee surgery in Minnesota in November 2001. Three days after the procedure, the patient developed pain and shock and died the following day. Postmortem blood cultures grew Clostridium sordellii.

Of the 26 cases, 13 patients were infected with Clostridium sordellii, with 11 of these patients receiving tissue from the same tissue processor, the CDC reports. While not named by the CDC, most of the tissues apparently came from Georgia-based CryoLife Inc. (see Reuters Health report December 7, 2001)

The CDC recommends that "a method that can kill bacterial spores should be used to process tissue...Unless a sporicidal method is used, aseptically processed tissue should not be considered sterile, and healthcare providers should be informed of the possible risk for bacterial infection."

If a sporicidal method is unavailable, then tissues should be cultured and discarded if Clostridium spp. or other bowel flora are found. Cultures should also be validated to eliminate false negatives. Also, "recommended time limits for tissue retrieval should be followed," the CDC adds.

MMWR 2002;51:207-210.

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