The University of Iowa was awarded a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Safety and
Healthcare Epidemiology Prevention Research Development (SHEPheRD) contract to create a
registry of persons infected with nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) after exposure to
heater cooler units during cardiothoracic surgical procedures. We created the NTM INFEcT
(INFections after Exposure To heater cooler units) Registry to collect the necessary data. The goal
of the NTM INFEcT Registry is to collect data about patients’ heater cooler unit exposures, the
heater cooler units to which they were exposed, their symptoms, clinical findings, time to and
method of diagnosis, treatments, response to treatments and outcomes. The Institutional Review
Board of the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine approved the Registry.
We have included
the case definition in the NTM Inclusion Criteria. If you have identified patients who you think meet the confirmed or
probable case definition please contact the Registry at contact@NTMINFEcT.org.