SSI is a major problem after lower limb vascular surgery. Most SSIs in vascular surgery are caused by Staphylococcal

species that are part of normal skin flora. A prospective observational investigator blind study to examine quantitative and qualitative analysis of surgical wound bacterial colonization and the correlation with the development of SSI has been conducted.

Methods: The study cohort comprised 94 consecutive patients with 100 surgical procedures. Swabs for microbiological analyses Were taken from surgical wounds at four different time intervals: before surgery, just before the surgical selleck area had been scrubbed, at the end of surgery, and on the first and second postoperative days. Postoperative complications were recorded.

Results: Three hundred and eighty-seven skin bacterial samples from 100 surgical wounds were analyzed. The most common bacteria isolated were coagulase-negative staphylococci (80%), Corynebacterium species (25%), and Propionibacterium species (15%). In click here 13 (62%) cases, the same bacterial isolates were found in the perioperative study samples as in the infected wounds. The incidence of SSI was 21%. Multivariate analysis revealed that high bacterial load on the second postoperative day and diabetes independently increased the risk of SSI. Elective redo surgery was protective

against the development of SSI.

Conclusions: A high bacterial load in the postoperative surgical wound independently increases the risk of the development of SSI after lower limb vascular surgery. (C) 2014 European Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“BACKGROUND: In order to rationalize the optimization of biofilm reactor design and operation in waste gas treatment, it is essential to understand the mass transfer properties in biofilms. In this study, oxygen transport this website within the biofilms of a membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) was characterized at different liquid flow velocities. Further, oxygen concentration distributions along the depth of the biofilms were investigated under different operating conditions (different oxygen supply modes, and various toluene loading rates)

by using oxygen microelectrodes. RESULTS: Oxygen fluxes into the biofilm ranged between 0.15 and 0.4 g m(b)(-2) h-1 at different liquid velocities of 0 to 0.06 m s-1 operated at a toluene loading rate of 0.08 g m(m)(-2) h-1 and a gas residence time of 24 s. In addition, toluene elimination capacities (ECs) obtained in this research ranged from 75 to 550 g m(gv)(-3) h(-1) (0.15 to 1.1 g m(m)(-2) h(-1)) at loading rates (LRs) of 87.5 to 625 g m(gv)(-3) h(-1) (0.17 to 1.25 g m(m)(-2) h(-1)). CONCLUSIONS: Microelectrode measurements reveal that the liquid flow influences the oxygen transport (reduction of the concentration boundary layer thickness) into the biofilm and plays a major role in controlling the flux of oxygen across the biofilm-water interface, thus increasing the potential for aerobic biodegradation.