Acute atrophic glossitis after open-heart surgery.

The problem of Candida infections has become important in connection with transplant surgery and immunosuppression. To clarify the source of the postoperative acute atrophic glossitis (AAG) commonly seen in our department of cardiac surgery, 33 patients admitted for coronary artery bypass or valve replacement underwent clinical and microbiologic investigation before and after operation. None showed signs of AAG preoperatively, but 12 had cultures positive for Candida albicans, and in all 12 AAG appeared postoperatively. Six of the 21 patients with preoperatively negative cultures likewise had postoperative AAG. All 18 affected patients responded well to local nystatin treatment. No patient had disseminated candidiasis.