Affects 14-35%4 of VAD patients and is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality.
Key points:
Driveline infections are common and easy to spot. If the driveline looks ok, think of either a deep driveline infection or VAD-related non-driveline infection or a non-VAD related infection.
The table below summarises some of the salient points and actions to take when suspecting infection.
Classified into 3 categories: