Thank you for taking the few minutes to fill out this 9-question survey about your opinions regarding the definition of MCSD Infection used by UNOS/OPTN.

Before starting, please review the UNOS/OPTN definition of Mechanical Circulatory Support Device related infection, section 6.1.C.vi and Table 6-1, pages 110-111 of the current guidelines at https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/media/1200/optn_policies.pdf

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* 1. My clinical role is:

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* 2. I believe the UNOS definition for device-related infection is:

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* 3. I agree that the following criteria for the UNOS definition of device-related infection are appropriate:

  Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree
Erythema, warmth, and pain along the driveline
Leukocytosis
50 percent increase in white blood cell count from the last recorded white blood cell count
Positive bacterial or fungal cultures from the driveline exit site
A culture-positive fluid collection between the exit site and the device
Surgical debridement of the driveline with positive cultures from sites between the exit site and the device
Recurrent bacteremia that recurs from the same organism within 4 weeks of completing antibiotic treatment to which the bacteria is susceptible
Positive culture of material from the pump pocket of an implanted device

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* 4. I believe my patients with device-related meet the following criteria for the UNOS definition of device-related infection:

  Very frequently Frequently Occasionally Rarely Almost never
Erythema, warmth, and pain along the driveline
Leukocytosis
50 percent increase in white blood cell count from the last recorded white blood cell count
Positive bacterial or fungal cultures from the driveline exit site
A culture-positive fluid collection between the exit site and the device
Surgical debridement of the driveline with positive cultures from sites between the exit site and the device
Recurrent bacteremia that recurs from the same organism within 4 weeks of completing antibiotic treatment to which the bacteria is susceptible
Positive culture of material from the pump pocket of an implanted device

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* 5. I have patients with device-related infections have difficulty obtaining a staus 3 exception because they do not strictly meet criteria:

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* 6. I have patients with device-related infections who have suffered complications because they could not obtain a status 3 exception.

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* 7. My patients that I believe have device-related infections meet the UNOS criteria by strict definitions:

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* 8. I use the following diagnostic modalities to determine the presence or extent of a potential device-related infection:

  Almost always Frequently Occasionally Rarely Never
Computed tomography
Ultrasound
fluorine-18 deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET)
(99m)Tc-labeled leukocyte single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT-CT)
indium-111-labeled leukocyte SPECT-CT
gallium-67 (Ga) SPECT-CT

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* 9. I believe that these should be explored as possible criteria in a definition of device-related infection:

  Strongly Agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree
Infection suggested by computed tomography
Infection suggested by ultrasound
Infection suggested by fluorine-18 deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET)
Infection suggested by (99m)Tc-labeled leukocyte single-photon emission computed tomography
Infection suggested by indium-111-labeled leukocyte SPECT-CT
Infection suggested by gallium-67 (Ga) SPECT-CT
Bacteremia with no other clear source
Infection related to the device with no reasonable chance of cure without explantation, as assessed by expert opinion

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