Is disability after cardiac surgery the major predictor of infections occurring in the rehabilitation phase?
In a large cohort of patients, residual disability after cardiac surgery was the strongest independent predictor of infections. Disability is readily accessible, and can be used to recognize patients at higher risk of infections. The 10.9% rate of major infections observed after discharge from the surgical department confirms the importance of prolonging infection surveillance after discharge from the cardiac surgery department.
Expanding the criteria for suitability of donor hearts dramatically increases the number of transplantations without compromising recipient outcome.