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Science 24 May 1985:
Vol. 228. no. 4702, pp. 990 - 993
DOI: 10.1126/science.4001933
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Articles

Science, Vol 228, Issue 4702, 990-993
Copyright © 1985 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Adherent bacterial colonization in the pathogenesis of osteomyelitis

AG Gristina, M Oga, LX Webb, and CD Hobgood

Direct scanning electron microscopy of material obtained during surgical debridement of osteomyelitic bone showed that the infecting bacteria grew in coherent microcolonies in an adherent biofilm so extensive it often obscured the infected bone surfaces. Transmission electron microscopy showed this biofilm to have a fibrous matrix, to contain some host cells, and to contain many bacteria around which matrix fibers were often concentrated. Many bacterial morphotypes were present in these biofilms, and each bacterium was surrounded by exopolysaccharide polymers, which are known to mediate formation of microcolonies and adhesion of bacteria to surfaces in natural ecosystems and in infections related biomaterials. The adherent mode of growth may reduce the susceptibility of these organisms to host clearance mechanisms and antibiotic therapy and thus may be a fundamental factor in acute and chronic osteomyelitis.


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J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 61, 117-122
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Osteomyelitis in Long Bones.
L. Lazzarini, J. T. Mader, and J. H. Calhoun (2004)
J. Bone Joint Surg. Am. 86, 2305-2318
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Osteomyelitis prevention in rabbits using antimicrobial peptide hLF1-11- or gentamicin-containing calcium phosphate cement.
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Interactions among Strategies Associated with Bacterial Infection: Pathogenicity, Epidemicity, and Antibiotic Resistance.
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Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 15, 647-679
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Therapeutic possibilities of long-term roxithromycin treatment for chronic diffuse sclerosing osteomyelitis of the mandible.
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J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 47, 631-637
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Spinal Osteomyelitis After TPN Catheter-Induced Septicemia.
F. A. Corso, D. B. Shaul, and B. M. Wolfe (1995)
JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr 19, 291-295
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Concomitant Tuberculous and Staphylococcal Osteomyelitis.
C. Quereda, A. Guerrero, E. Navas, and M. J. P. Elias (1991)
Arch Intern Med 151, 2314
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Biomaterial-Centered Sepsis and the Total Artificial Heart: Microbial Adhesion vs Tissue Integration.
A. G. Gristina, J. J. Dobbins, B. Giammara, J. C. Lewis, and W. C. DeVries (1988)
JAMA 259, 870-874
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Biomaterial-centered infection: microbial adhesion versus tissue integration.
A. Gristina (1987)
Science 237, 1588-1595
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Pseudomonas Attachment to New Hydrogel Contact Lenses.
J. A. Duran, M. F. Refojo, I. K. Gipson, and K. R. Kenyon (1987)
Arch Ophthalmol 105, 106-109
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Extended-Wear Lenses, Biofilm, and Bacterial Adhesion.
M. M. Slusher, Q. N. Myrvik, J. C. Lewis, and A. G. Gristina (1987)
Arch Ophthalmol 105, 110-115
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