CryoLife tissue infections
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
CDC issues morbity and mortality report identifying cases of allograft-associated bacterial infection March 14. Of 26 named cases, 14 were identified as using CryoLife-processed tissues. "Some of the infections are likely not due to the tissue," CryoLife President/CEO Steven Anderson maintained during a March 15 teleconference downplaying the report and emphasizing that it is a summary of previously released information. Though a measure of increased oversight by FDA is anticipated, the firm says it is not aware of "serious" infections of the rare bacterium Clostridium sordellii since a 23-year old Minnesota knee surgery patient implanted with Cryolife-processed human donor condyle tissue died Nov. 11, 2001 (1"The Gray Sheet" Dec. 24, 2001, In Brief)...