Reactivation of Q fever following cardiac surgery.
To determine whether reactivation of Q fever occurs following cardiac surgery 43 patients who had antibodies to Coxiella burnetii were identified pre-operatively. Serum samples were collected 1, 4 to 6, and 24 weeks post-operatively. One patient had active Q fever endocarditis. Seven of the remaining 42 (17%) had a > or = fourfold rise in titres for antibodies to Coxiella burnetii post-operatively. Only two of these seven had an increase in antibody titres for other agents suggesting that the fourfold titre rise for Coxiella burnetii was not part of a polyclonal response. It is concluded that self-limited reactivation of infection may occur among Coxiella burnetii seropositive patients undergoing open heart surgery.
Marrie
T J
TJ
Department of Medicine, Dalhousi University, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Cunning
J
J
Durnford
P
P
D000368:Aged; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D016997:Coxiella burnetii / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011778:Q Fever / Q000276:immunology*
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial