Direct confocal microscopy studies of the bacterial colonization in vitro of a silver-coated heart valve sewing cuff

The antimicrobial coating of prosthetic heart valve sewing cuffs has been considered a potentially effective method for preventing prosthetic valve endocarditis. Although traditional in vitro bacterial adherence studies are often useful as screening tools, they can be inadequate in examining the ant...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of antimicrobial agents 2000, Vol.13 (3), p.169-173
Main Authors: Cook, Guy, Costerton, J.William, Darouiche, Rabih O
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Bacterial Adhesion
Bacterial colonization
Biofilms - growth & development
Colony Count, Microbial
Confocal microscopy studies
Heart Valve Prosthesis - microbiology
Humans
Microscopy, Confocal
Pilot Projects
Silver
Silver-coated
Staphylococcus epidermidis
Staphylococcus epidermidis - growth & development
Staphylococcus epidermidis - isolation & purification
Staphylococcus epidermidis - ultrastructure
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The antimicrobial coating of prosthetic heart valve sewing cuffs has been considered a potentially effective method for preventing prosthetic valve endocarditis. Although traditional in vitro bacterial adherence studies are often useful as screening tools, they can be inadequate in examining the antiinfective efficacy of antimicrobial-coated devices. We conducted a pilot in vitro study to directly assess the antimicrobial activity of a silver-coated sewing cuff versus uncoated cuff using confocal scanning laser microscopy. Staphylococcus epidermidis adhered more to the surfaces of the silver-coated sewing cuff compared with the uncoated cuff. These pilot in vitro results cast a doubt on the antiinfective efficacy of silver-coated prosthetic heart valve sewing cuffs and suggest further assessment should be carried out using animal studies.
ISSN:0924-8579
1872-7913
DOI:10.1016/S0924-8579(99)00120-X