Do Prior Driveline Infections Increase the Risk of Infection in Heart Transplant Patients Treated With Rabbit Antithymocyte Globulin Induction Therapy?

•Postoperative infection risk due to prior driveline infections (DLIs) was retrospectively assessed in heart transplant recipients who previously had mechanical circulatory support devices (MCSDs) and antithymocyte globulin (ATG) induction therapy.•A total of 57 MCSD patients from a single center who subsequently underwent heart transplantation between 2003 and 2013 were reviewed and divided into those who had a previous DLI (n = 12) and those who had not had a previous DLI (n = 45).•The primary outcome was 1-year freedom from infection after transplantation (specifically, a sternal wound infection).•There were no differences in the risk of posttransplant infection between the 2 groups.•Although previous studies have shown that antithymocyte globulin therapy is not a risk factor for posttransplant infection, this study is the first to focus on patients with prior DLIs.