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Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (2000) 45, 221-224
© 2000 The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

Brief reports

Antibacterial activity of antibiotic-soaked polyvinylpyrrolidone-grafted silicon elastomer hydrocephalus shunts

Jaap J. Boelensa,*, Wee-Fu Tanb, Jacob Dankerta and Sebastian A. J. Zaata

a Department of Medical Microbiology and b Department of Neurosurgery, Academic Medical Center, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

If shunts, inserted for the relief of hydrocephalus, are pretreated with antimicrobials, the incidence of shunt-associated infections (SAI) may be reduced. The duration of the antibacterial activity of shunts, made from conventional silicon elastomer (SE) or from SE grafted with the hydrogel polyvinylpyrrolidone (SEpvp), which had been soaked in various antibiotics, was assessed in vitro. For any antibiotic or combination, using an arbitrary breakpoint (aBP), SEpvp remained antibacterially active for longer periods than SE. Bacterial adherence to either shunt was prevented during the period of antibacterial activity. Thus, the aBP is a good indicator of the capacity of antimicrobial-treated shunts to prevent bacterial colonization in vitro. Hydrogel-grafting of shunts may be useful in preventing SAI.

* Correspondence address. Department of Pediatrics, Leiden University Medical Centre, J6-S, PO Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands. Tel: +31-71-5262824; Fax: +31-71-5248198; E-mail: BoelensJJ{at}yahoo.com


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