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Tap Water has No Influence on Microbial Colonization of Skin Wounds in Rats
Margarida Resende1, Bernardo Hochman2, Alfredo Gragnani3
1Universidade do Vale do Sapucaí, Pouso Alegre, Brazil.
Unlabelled:
The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of tap water on microbial colonization of skin wounds in rats.
Methods:
A cir- cular wound 2.4 cm in diameter was created on the back of 40 Wistar rats, which were randomly assigned to the control (n = 20) or study (n = 20) group. The wounds were cleansed daily using a sterile 0.9% sodium chloride solution (control group) or tap water (study group) for 6 days, following a standardized protocol. Sequential samples were collected for microbiological analysis every other day.
Results:
Microbial growth occurred in 49% of the samples from the control group and in 47% of the samples from the study group (P = 0.39). There was no significant difference in microbial growth between groups for the different culture media: thioglycolate (P = 0.20), mannitol salt agar (P = 0.53), blood agar (P = 0.61), eosin methylene blue agar (P = 0.51), and Sabouraud agar (P = 0.34). The following microorganisms were identified: Bacil- lus subtilis, Staphylococcus sp, Aureobasidium sp, Penicillium sp, and Cladosporium sp.
Conclusion:
The use of tap water for cleansing skin wounds in rats had no effect on microbial colonization compared with the use of a sterile saline solution. .
