AN INCREASED CONCENTRATION OF RIFAMPICIN BONDED TO GELATIN-SEALED DACRON REDUCES THE INCIDENCE OF SUBSEQUENT GRAFT INFECTIONS FOLLOWING A STAPHYLOCOCCAL CHALLENGE
M. Vicaretti et al., AN INCREASED CONCENTRATION OF RIFAMPICIN BONDED TO GELATIN-SEALED DACRON REDUCES THE INCIDENCE OF SUBSEQUENT GRAFT INFECTIONS FOLLOWING A STAPHYLOCOCCAL CHALLENGE, Cardiovascular surgery, 6(3), 1998, pp. 268-273
The purpose of this study was to determine if 10 mg/ml rifampicin bond
ed to gelatin-sealed Dacron (Gelsoft) reduced staphylococcal infection
. Grafts soaked in rifampicin were interposed in the left carotid arte
ry of 20 merino sheep and then inoculated with 10(8) colony-forming un
its of MRSA (10 sheep) or a slime producing Staphylococcus epidermidis
(10 sheep). Grafts were harvested at 3 weeks, and perigraft abscess,
anastomotic disruption and graft occlusion recorded. Swabs were taken
to assess bacterial growth of the perigraft tissues, and external and
internal graft surface. Grafts segments were incubated in broth medium
, Results were compared with previously published results that used gr
aft that were not soaked in rifampicin (control) and grafts soaked in
1.2 mg/ml rifampicin, A total of 4/50 cultures were positive and signi
ficantly reduced for S. epidermidis compared with the control group of
30/50 (P < 0.05) and the 1.2 mg/ml group of 13/45 (P < 0.05). For the
methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) group, 6/40 cultur
es were positive, which was significantly reduced compared with the co
ntrol group (38/40, P < 0.05) and the 1.2-mg/ml group (19/32, P < 0.05
). In conclusion an increased concentration of rifampicin significantl
y reduced the incidence of prosthetic vascular graft infection followi
ng a challenge of MRSA or S. epidermidis. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevi
er Science Ltd. All rights reserved.