THE ADDITION OF ANTIBIOTICS TO FIBRIN GLUE

Fibrin glue is composed of two separate solutions of fibrinogen and th rombin. When mixed together, these two solutions mimic the final stage s of the clotting cascade to form a fibrin clot. Because the resulting fibrin patch is a good medium for microbial growth, the addition of a ntibiotics to one of the components of fibrin glue has been shown to r educe postoperative infections. Seventeen different antibiotics have b een investigated in vitro. Of the 17, cefotaxime, mezlocillin, gentami cin, neomycin, and polymixin B, when added to fibrin glue, carl decrea se the rate of clot formation or the strength of the resultant fibrin clot. Further work is necessary to characterize the effect the additio n of antibiotics has on the rate and strength of fibrin clotting and t o determine what effect low systemic levels of antibiotics might have on antibiotic resistance patterns.