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Microbial biofilms and breast tissue expanders
Melissa J Karau1, Kerryl E Greenwood-Quaintance, Suzannah M Schmidt
1Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, 200 First Street S.W., Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
Biomed Research International
|August 20, 2013
Summary
The vortexing-sonication technique effectively detects infected breast tissue expanders. However, it also revealed asymptomatic colonization by skin flora, primarily Propionibacterium species, in 16% of devices.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Medical Devices
- Surgical Infections
Background:
- Biofilm bacteria pose diagnostic challenges, particularly on prosthetic materials.
- Previous development of vortexing-sonication for prosthetic joint infection detection.
- Need for reliable methods to diagnose infection and assess colonization in breast tissue expanders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the vortexing-sonication technique for diagnosing infected breast tissue expanders.
- To assess the prevalence of asymptomatic colonization in breast tissue expanders.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 328 breast tissue expanders was studied between April 2008 and December 2011.
- The vortexing-sonication technique was applied to detect bacterial presence.
- Cultures were analyzed to identify bacterial species and assess infection or colonization.
Main Results:
- Six of seven clinically infected breast tissue expanders (85.7%) showed positive cultures.
- Fifty-two of 321 breast tissue expanders without clinical infection (16.2%) also had positive cultures.
- Common isolates from asymptomatic expanders included Propionibacterium species and coagulase-negative staphylococci.
Conclusions:
- Vortexing-sonication is a viable method for detecting infection in breast tissue expanders.
- A significant percentage (16.2%) of breast tissue expanders may be asymptomatically colonized by skin flora.
- Propionibacterium species are the most common colonizers of breast tissue expanders.
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