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High bacterial load in negative pressure wound therapy ( NPWT ) foams used in the treatment of chronic wounds
Author(s) -
Yusuf Erlangga,
Jordan Xavier,
Clauss Martin,
Borens Olivier,
Mäder Mark,
Trampuz Andrej
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
wound repair and regeneration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.847
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1524-475X
pISSN - 1067-1927
DOI - 10.1111/wrr.12088
Subject(s) - negative pressure wound therapy , medicine , sonication , colony forming unit , bacterial growth , microbiology and biotechnology , polyurethane , bacteria , pathology , biology , composite material , materials science , genetics , alternative medicine , radiology
No earlier study has investigated the microbiology of negative pressure wound therapy ( NPWT ) foam using a standardized manner. The purpose of this study is to investigate the bacterial load and microbiological dynamics in NPWT foam removed from chronic wounds (>3 months). To determine the bacterial load, a standardized size of the removed NPWT foam was sonicated. The resulting sonication fluid was cultured, and the colony‐forming units ( CFU ) of each species were enumerated. Sixty‐eight foams from 17 patients (mean age 63 years, 71% males) were investigated. In 65 (97%) foams, ≥ 1 and in 37 (54%) ≥2 bacterial types were found. The bacterial load remained high during NPWT treatment, ranging from 10 4 to 10 6 CFU /ml. In three patients (27%), additional type of bacteria was found in subsequent foam cultures. The mean bacterial count ± standard deviation was higher in polyvinyl alcohol foam (6.1 ± 0.5 CFU /ml) than in polyurethane (5.5 ± 0.8 CFU /ml) ( p = 0.02). The mean of log of sum of CFU /ml in foam from 125 mmHg (5.5 ± 0.8) was lower than in foam from 100 mmHg pressure (5.9 ± 0.5) ( p = 0.01). Concluding, bacterial load remains high in NPWT foam, and routine changing does not reduce the load.