Reduced bacterial adherence to silicone plastic neurosurgical prosthesis

Bacteria have been shown to adhere to smooth surfaces, such as shunts, by secreting a complex polysaccharide coat called the glycocalyx. We assume that if bacterial adherence could be reduced to zero, foreign-body-related infections would be essentially eliminated. This study describes a new technique for quantitating bacterial adherence to plastic using radioactive chromium, and demonstrates that presoaking the silicone plastic surgical tubing used for ventriculoperitoneal and ventriculoatrial shunts in bacitracin A solution (50,000 units in 250 ml) reduces the adherence of Staphylococcus epidermidis by 54%. We conclude that pretreatment of a hydrocephalic shunt tubing with an aqueous bacitracin solution before its implantation may help to reduce the postoperative shunt infections due to direct contamination of the shunt at the time it is inserted.