The Bacterial Contamination of Allogeneic Bone and Emergence of Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria in Tissue Bank

Present study was carried out for the microbiological evaluation of allogeneic bone processed from femoral heads. A total 60 bacterial isolates comprising five different species including Streptococcus spp., Staphylococcus spp., Klebsiella spp., Bacillus spp., and Pseudomonas spp. were characterized based on their cultural and biochemical characteristics. Average bioburden was ranged from 5.7 × 10 1 to 3.9 × 10 4  cfu/gm. The majority (81.7%) of the microbial contaminants were detected as Gram positive with the predominant organism being skin commensal coagulase negative Staphylococci (43.3%). Antimicrobial resistance was evaluated by the activities of 14 broad and narrow spectrum antibiotic discs. Comparing the overall pattern, marked resistance was noted against Penicillin and Amoxicillin 100% (60/60). The most effective single antibiotics were Gentamicin, Tobramycin, and Ofloxacin which were bactericidal against 100% (60/60) isolates. Multidrug resistance (MDR) was confirmed in 70% (42/60) of the samples. Among them, the most prevalent antibiotypes were Penicillin, Amoxicillin, Oxacillin, Polymyxin, and Cefpodoxime (80% of total MDR). The study results revealed higher contamination rate on bone allografts and recommend the implementation of good tissue banking practices during tissue procurement, processing, and storage in order to minimize the chances of contamination.