BIOFILM-BASED NOSOCOMIAL INFECTIONS - Tecno-Libro

The well-known persistence in the nosocomial environment of multidrug resistant bacterial and fungal species, today responsible for a wide variety of healthcare-associated infections, is believed to be greatly promoted by the ability of most of them to adhere and to grow in sessile mode on mucosal and soft tissues of hospitalized patients, as well as on the inner and outer surfaces of indwelling medical devices, including intravenous catheters, orthopaedic, cardiac valves, intrauterine devices, and contact lenses. In this regard, a large number of these microorganisms, such as Acinetobacter baumannii, Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus, give rise to highly organized, sessile community defined biofilms, in which microbes grow encased in a hydrated matrix of extracellular polymeric substances produced by themselves and are well protected from the attack of antimicrobial molecules and from the host immune response, by resisting phagocytosis and other body's defense systems. The great influence of the sessile growth on the effectiveness of