a Department of Medical Microbiology and b Department of Neurosurgery, Academic Medical Center, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Abstract |
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Introduction |
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The initial step in the pathogenesis of SAI is assumed to be adherence of bacteria.1 To prevent infection, a surface-modified silicon elastomer, the polyvinylpyrrolidone-grafted silicon elastomer (SEpvp) was introduced. As polyvinylpyrrolidone is a hydrogel, SEpvp may take up more antibiotic when soaked in an antibiotic solution than conventional silicon elastomer (SE) shunts,2 with resulting longer antibacterial activity and prevention of bacterial adherence. This study examines the in vitro antibacterial activity of SEpvp and SE soaked in solutions of various antibiotics or combinations and correlations with bacterial adherence.
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Materials and methods |
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Solutions of antibiotics, containing maximum soluble concentrations, were prepared in sterile distilled water.3 The antibiotics used were: gentamicin (600 mg/mL; Centrafarm, Etten-Leur, The Netherlands), teicoplanin (135 mg/mL; Yamanouchi, Leiderdorp, The Netherlands), minocycline (100 mg/mL; Lederle, Hoofddorp, The Netherlands), flucloxacillin (650 mg/mL; SmithKline Beecham, Rijswijk, The Netherlands) and vancomycin (200 mg/mL; Eli Lilly, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands). Seven serial two-fold dilutions, of each of these antibiotic solutions, were prepared. Rifampicin (60 mg/mL; Yamanouchi) was dissolved and serial two-fold dilutions were made in the solvent provided by the manufacturer (water and polysorbate 81).
Preparation of shunt segments
Shunts of SE and SEpvp (Bioglide), with a diameter of 2.5 mm and a wall thickness of 0.6 mm, were obtained from Medtronic PS Medical, Goleta, CA, USA. Segments, cut under aseptic conditions, were soaked in the antibiotic solutions for 15 min, rinsed twice with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and dried in a laminar flow cabinet for 10 min. In all experiments saline-soaked SE and SEpvp were used as controls.
Bacterial strains
Two clinical slime-producing isolates, S. epidermidis AMC1 and Staphylococcus capitis AMC2 were used.4 Strain AMC1 was highly susceptible to rifampicin, teicoplanin, minocycline and vancomycin, and strain AMC2 to rifampicin, gentamicin and flucloxacillin. Strain AMC1 was used to determine the antibacterial activity of SE and SEpvp soaked in rifampicin, teicoplanin, minocycline, vancomycin, rifampicin+teicoplanin, rifampicin+minocycline and rifampicin+vancomycin. Strain AMC2 was used to determine the antibacterial activity of SE and SEpvp soaked in gentamicin, flucloxacillin and rifampicin+gentamicin.
Preincubation of antibiotic-soaked shunt segments in agar, serum or subcutaneously
Using a pair of tweezers, 5 mm long antibiotic-soaked (ab)-SE and ab-SEpvp segments were placed into 2.5 mm diameter holes, punched in a 5 mm thick 1% (w/v) IsoSensitest agar plate (Oxoid, Basingstoke, UK). In addition, rifampicin-soaked segments were immersed in 40 mL human serum (60 mL bottles) and placed on a rotary-shaker (30 rpm; 37°C) or were implanted in rabbit subcutaneous tissue (four New Zealand Whites; 2- to 3-months-old and weighing 25003000 g; Harlan, Horst, The Netherlands). Segments were removed from either environment after 0, 3, 9, 24, 48, 72, 96 or 120 h and tested for antibacterial activity.
Antibacterial activity of antibiotic-soaked shunt segments
The antibacterial activity of the segments was assessed by an agar diffusion test on Iso-Sensitest agar plates (15 cm; Oxoid). The bacterial inoculum was prepared according to NCCLS standards (Kirby-Bauer).5 Sets of five SE and SEpvp segments, soaked in the same antibiotic solution and retrieved from the same preincubation environment, were incubated overnight (37°C) on one plate. Inhibition zones were measured in mm (mean ± S.D. mm). Antibacterial activities of SE and SEpvp, based on arbitrary zone breakpoints (aBP), were compared. The duration of high antibacterial activity is defined as the period of preincubation in either environment, after which the segments still produce inhibition zones equal to or larger than the aBP. The aBP derived from the NCCLS zone breakpoint for susceptibility of coagulase-negative staphylococci using the disc diffusion method,5 was corrected for the difference in diameter between antibiotic discs (9 mm; r = 4.5 mm) and shunts (2.5 mm; r = 1.25 mm). For example the NCCLS BP for rifampicin discs is 23 mm (r = 11.5 mm), and the calculated aBP for rifampicin-soaked shunts is 21.4 mm (10.7 mm). This aBP is calculated as follows, . (r aBP)2 =
. (11.5)2
. (4.5)2 +
. (1.25)2 = 356.8. Consequently, the r for the aBP is 10.7 mm, and the diameter is 21.4 mm. The aBP diameters for rifampicin, flucloxacillin, gentamicin and minocycline were 21.4 mm, and for vancomycin and teicoplanin 12 mm.
Bacterial adherence to ab-SE and ab-SEpvp
An inoculum of 108 cfu/mL TrypticaseSoy Broth (TSB; Difco, Detroit, MI, USA) was prepared. TSB was used to mimic a protein-rich environment. After various preincubation periods in agar, 10 cm long SE and SEpvp segments were exposed to the inoculum in 100 mL TSB for 3 h (37°C). Subsequently, segments were rinsed twice with PBS, the middle 3 cm was sonicated in a tube containing 3 mL of PBS (Bransonic B-2200 E4, 47 kHz, 205 W, 30 s) to dislodge the adherent bacteria. The 3 mL of PBS was quantitatively cultured (mean ± S.D. cfu/cm). Statistical analysis was performed by Student's t test.
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Results |
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Discussion |
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Grafting of SE with polyvinylpyrrolidone prolonged the antibacterial activity of ab-SEpvp shunts compared with ab-SE. Sherertz et al.6 reported that chlorhexidine-coated catheters producing zones of inhibition with a diameter of >15 mm for Staphylococcus aureus prevented subcutaneous catheter-associated infection in rabbits. This 15 mm zone size has been used as a breakpoint to predict the in vivo efficacy of antimicrobial shunts, regardless of the antibiotic and the test organism used.7 The aBP, derived from the NCCLS breakpoints for antibiotic susceptibility, taking bacterial species and antibiotics used into account, seems to be a good indicator in predicting in vitro bacterial adherence to antibacterially active shunts.
The advantages of hydrogel-coated shunts are that clinicians can choose a specific antibiotic or antibiotic combination and that the antibiotics will be released from the shunt for up to 45 days. It should be noted that the duration of antibacterial activity in vivo in the proximal end (ventricle), and in the lumen of the shunt could be shorter, because of the flow of CSF. Although much longer periods of in vitro antibiotic release of shunts coated with antibiotics have been reported,810 such shunts can have disadvantages. If a patient is allergic to the antibiotic in or on the shunt, or if local resistance rates to the antibiotic coated on to the shunt are high, then the shunt cannot be used. The risk of the emergence of resistance to the antibiotic on the shunt must be considered, since subinhibitory antibiotic concentration in the antibiotic gradient around the implanted shunt could be present for long periods. Soaking of SEpvp shunts in the maximum soluble antibiotic concentration should not lead to toxic effects. The inhibition zones obtained are smaller than those that correlate with concentrations of antibiotic with which toxicity could be associated.7 In addition, the inflammatory tissue reaction around ab-SE and ab-SEpvp in rabbit subcutaneous tissue and around saline-soaked segments were similar (data not shown).
Since it is assumed that SAIs originate from contamination during insertion of the catheter or shortly thereafter,1 antimicrobial-treated shunts should release antibiotics during the first few days after implantation. Therefore, the use of the SEpvp shunt may contribute to the prevention of SAI.
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Acknowledgments |
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Notes |
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References |
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2 . Giammona, G., Pitarresi, G., Tomarchio, V., Cacciaguerra, S. & Govoni, P. (1997). A hydrogel based on a polyaspartamide: characterization and evolution of in-vivo biocompatibility and drug release in the rat. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology 49, 10516.[ISI][Medline]
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4 . Christensen, G. D., Simpson, W. A., Bisno, A. L. & Beachey, E. H. (1982). Adherence of slime-producing strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis to smooth surfaces. Infection and Immunity 37, 31826.[ISI][Medline]
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6 . Sherertz, R. J., Carruth, W. A., Hampton, A. A., Byron, M. P. & Solomon, D. D. (1993). Efficacy of antibiotic-coated catheters in preventing subcutaneous Staphylococcus aureus infection in rabbits. Journal of Infectious Diseases 167, 98106.[ISI][Medline]
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10 . Schierholz, J. M. & Pulverer, G. (1997). Development of a new CSF-shunt with sustained release of an antimicrobial broad-spectrum combination. Zentralblatt fur Bacteriologie 286, 10723.
Received 10 March 1999; returned 28 July 1999; revised 26 August 1999; accepted 18 October 1999