In vitro adherence of bacteria to prosthetic vascular grafts

The adherence of staphylococci and Enterobacteriaceae radiolabelled with 3H-thymidine to Dacron and polytetrafluoroethylene prosthetic vascular graft materials was investigated using an in vitro method. Adherence readily occurred after a few minutes of incubation. Enterobacteriaceae adhered to Dacron in a 10-100 times greater number per mm of length than to polytetrafluoroethylene. The addition of velour to the Dacron graft further increased the number of adherent bacteria. In contrast, the adherence of coagulase-negative and positive staphylococci per mm of length was roughly the same to Dacron and polytetrafluoroethylene. The adherence of bacteria to vascular graft materials may be part of the underlying pathogenesis of vascular graft infections and differential adherence amongst various graft materials could be of clinical importance. However, in the absence of controlled clinical studies, the significance of these findings remains to be determined.